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Monkey or Squirrel Teapot: C.575 & A-1928

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An image of Teapot
An image of Teapot
Current Location: Gallery 27 (Glaisher)

Titles

Monkey or Squirrel Teapot

Maker(s)

Production: Unidentified Staffordshire factory

Entities

Categories

Description

Slip cast white stoneware,with applied moulded handle and spout, and salt-glaze

White salt-glazed stoneware, slip cast in the form of a monkey or squirrel holding a nut in its forepaws, its body decorated with small birds among the branches of a fanciful tree. A curved spout with similar relief designs projects at the front, and handle in the form of a knobbly dragon is attached to the back. The head is removable and has a hole inside the left ear.

Notes

History note: Frank Stoner, London, from whom purchased for £27 on 29 October, 1922 by Dr J.W.L. Glaisher, FRS, Trinity College, Cambridge

Legal notes

Dr J.W.L. Glaisher Bequest

Measurements and weight

Height: 13.5 cm
Length: 18.1 cm

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Bequeathed (1928-12-07) by Glaisher, J. W. L., Dr

Dating

18th Century, Mid
George II
Circa 1750 - 1755

Note

Fanciful tableware in the form of animals, birds, fruit and vegetables was an aspect of the playful Rococo style of the mid-eighteenth century. The form of this teapot pot was probably inspired by either a Meissen monkey or squirrel teapot modelled by J.J. Kaendler in 1735. Both Glaisher on its purchase, and Rackham in his Catalogue of 1935, considered that it was a squirrel, but its head is more like a monkey's.

School or Style

Rococo

Components of the work

Surface composed of salt-glaze

Materials used in production

off-white Stoneware

Techniques used in production

Salt-glazing
Slip casting

References and bibliographic entries

Identification numbers

Accession number: C.575 & A-1928
Primary reference Number: 75559
Old object number: 3745

Audit data

Created: Saturday 6 August 2011 Updated: Thursday 14 August 2025

Associated departments & institutions

Owner or interested party: The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department: Applied Arts

Citation for print

This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:

The Fitzwilliam Museum (2025) "Monkey or Squirrel Teapot" Web page available at: https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/75559 Accessed: 2025-12-05 09:31:20

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{{cite web|url=https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/75559 |title=Monkey or Squirrel Teapot |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2025-12-05 09:31:20|publisher=The University of Cambridge}}

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