Antique c.1920 Blue Willow Teapot by Johnson Bros of England PRISTINE

Description: This is a lovely antique earthenware teapot, made by Johnson Brothers in England decorated with the ever popular Blue Willow pattern. Johnson Brothers called the pattern Willow, which is part of the backstamp. The amazing thing is, this teapot looks new. The crown backstamp on this piece was used starting in 1913. Around 1914 pottery and china in England began being marked with “Made in England” rather than just “England”. This teapot has “Made in England” stamped in the earthenware, but is not part of the crown backstamp. Replacements shows a crown backstamp circa 1930 that included information about the decoration being underglaze, which is not on this teapot. My thinking is then, that this teapot, with this crown backstamp, was made as early as 1914, or into the 1920’s, but before 1930. Also on this piece, under the word England are about 8 dots, which I have read are found on older pieces of English china, which makes it more valuable. I could not find any reference about dating the backstamp because of these dots. So this teapot is somewhere around 100 years old, but does not look it! It has no chips, cracks, or stains and looking at it with a flashlight I see no crazing either, which is amazing in a 100 year old English earthenware teapot! That means it was used infrequently, if at all. The teapot holds 5 cups and stands about 6 & 1/2 inches tall to the top of the knob on the lid, and is about 9 & 1/4 inches from the tip of spout to the handle. Please zoom in on the pictures and see the 360 degree video for a closer look. I pack with lots of bubble wrap for safe shipping and ship out quickly, sometimes same day, always by next business day, and sometimes on Saturdays if I can make it to the post office before they close at noon. Any questions, please ask, and thanks for looking! Background on Johnson Brothers. Two Johnson brothers, Alfred and Frederick, formed their company in 1882. The developed a white ware they called “white granite” that was a strong durable earthenware that looked like china but was strong like ironstone. A third brother, Henry, joined the company in 1888 and began producing transfer ware, that they later became famous for. A fourth brother, Robert joined them in 1896, and they prospered operating 5 factories before the turn of the century. Their business survived the two world wars, and the Great Depression and they were awarded a Royal Warrant from Queen Elizabeth II and the Queen mother. In 1968, with many other companies, they joined the Wedgwood group, to stay competitive. However by 2003 their products were no longer made in Britain, but started being made in China. Backstory on the popular Blue Willow pattern: The Blue Willow pattern been around since 1780, when Thomas Minton of England created it. It was so popular it was eventually massed produced, and has been made ever since. There is also a Chinese legend behind the Blue Willow pattern, that I read about on lovetoknow.com if you are interested: “In the Blue Willow legend, a beautiful daughter of a powerful man fell in love with her father's secretary. Discovering their love, the father banished the secretary and constructed a great fence to keep his daughter contained. She could only walk by the water and the willows. She despaired until she received a message from her lover. At a banquet, he rescued her, but her father noticed and chased them across a bridge. The got away, but years later, her father caught up with them. The secretary was killed, and the daughter died as well. In pity, the gods turned them both into doves so they could fly together forever. The Blue Willow china pattern is symbolic with many symbols from this legend in the design. If you look closely, you'll see the fence the father built to keep his daughter in, the bridge he chased the lovers across, the willow and a stream with a boat in it, which the daughter walked by, and other things from the legend. Also there are two flying doves that represent the couple.”

Price: 175 USD

Location: Raleigh, North Carolina

End Time: 2024-12-18T13:29:56.000Z

Shipping Cost: N/A USD