Teapot
Factory: William Hackwood (Possibly)
Teapot in the form of a tea kettle, with large 'top' handle, and long curved spout, white earthenware, transfer-printed underglaze in blue with pastoral scenes after Spode’s ‘Italian’ pattern, interrupted on both sides with the verse: 'LADIES I HOPE / YOU WILL MAKE FREE/AND TELLMEHOW/YOU LIKE YOUR TEA’. Inside, on the base, is the printed motto: 'Health to the Sick, / Honour to the Brave, / Success to the Lover, / and Freedom to the Slave'. Printed ‘WH’ mark on underside of lid.
White earthenware, transfer-printed underglaze in blue. The pot is in the form of a tea kettle with a pronounced shoulder, long, gently curved spout, and a large kidney-shaped handle rising from curved feet on the shoulder. The slightly convex circular lid has a large knob with a shallow button on top. The body is decorated on both sides with with a continuous pastoral scene after Spode's 'Italian' pattern, interrupted by an oblong wreath enclosing the verse: 'LADIES I HOPE/YOU WILL MAKE FREE/AND TELL ME HOW/YOU LIKE YOUR TEA'. The shoulder is decorated with a wide formal pattern of stylized plants, spirals and striations. Inside, on the base, is the motto: 'Health to the Sick./Honour to the Brave./Success to the Lover./And Freedom to the Slave' .The top of the cover is decorated to match the shoulder, and the top of the knob has a daisy-like flower on a striated ground. On the underside of the cover, printed in the centre, are the initials, ' W H'.
History note: Lawrences Auctioneers, Crewkerne, online auction held, Wednesday 12 October 2022, lot 797. E. & H. Manners, Kensington Church Street, London, from whom purchased.
Given by the Friends of the Fitzwilliam Museum, 2022
Height: 27 cm
Method of acquisition: Bought (2022) by E. & H. Manners
19th Century, second quarter
Circa
1827
-
Circa
1843
This teapot is an example of an object used to subtly convey the politics or beliefs of its owner, in this case, their support for the Abolitionist cause. The short poem, displayed twice on the exterior, ‘Ladies I hope you will make free and tell me how you like your tea', is relatively well-known and features on other early-mid-nineteenth century tea wares. This has historically (mistakenly) been connected to the suffrage movement but here, in a very rare combination with a second well-known verse, ‘Health to the sick, Honour to the brave, Success to the lover, and Freedom to the slave' (taken from Robert Duke’s 1717 poem ‘The Review’) displayed inside the base of the teapot, it clearly alludes to the Abolitionist viewpoints held by the middle-class woman serving tea and her attitudes towards the consumption of sugar (refusing sugar, or at least that ‘produced by Slaves’ was connected to the Abolitionist cause). However, there are questions raised as to how this second verse, inside the teapot, was shown. Was it shown to visitors before tea was made, or shown to them after the tea was drunk, just visible through the tea leaves remaining in the bottom of the pot? Or was it a secret, known only to the hostess? Although the pattern here (without the verses) was derived from Spode's popular 'Italian' pattern, the factory that produced the teapot is uncertain. The initials, 'W H' recorded on the underside of the cover, have been found on other blue and white earthenware of this period, and may refer to William Hackwood, who began manufacturing in a partnership in the Eastwood area of Hanley in 1807, and after this was dissolved in 1827, continued on his own there until 1843. In 1842 the firm became William Hackwood & Son and acquired the New Hall works at Shelton. William died in 1849 and Thomas Hackwood continued until 1856. There were several other factories which produced versions of Spode's Italian, such as Joseph Stubbs at Longport, Burslem.
Decoration
composed of
ceramic printing colour
( blue from cobalt)
Cover
Diameter 10.8 cm
Height 6 cm
Whole Body
clear
Glaze
white
Earthenware
Inscription present: printed in blue on both sides
Inscription present: transfer-printed in blue on interior of base
Inscription present: transfer-printed underglaze in blue on underside of cover
Accession number: C.15 & A-2022
Primary reference Number: 311928
Stable URI
Owner or interested party:
The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department:
Applied Arts
This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:
The Fitzwilliam Museum (2025) "Teapot" Web page available at: https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/311928 Accessed: 2025-04-22 20:38:29
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|title=Teapot
|author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2025-04-22 20:38:29|publisher=The
University of Cambridge}}
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