ENGLISH WHITE IRONSTONE Antique Teapot Circa Pre-1890

Beautiful EARLY IRONSTONE TEAPOT or CHOCOLATE POT by J & G Meakin of Staffordshire, England. 

The antique teapot is stamped with an early trademark, which features the Royal Arms with a lion couchant (lion lying down with head raised). The mark dates the piece pre-1890 as by 1890 the J & G Meakin mark was transitioning to include the lion rampant and the location of the pottery (e.g. England, Hanley, Eastwood Works).

The plain pattern teapot has no embellishments, other than a ring finial on the lid.  In Jean Weatherbee's book, Second Look at White Ironstone, she shows J & G Meakin using this simple shaped teapot in its lines produced in the 1870s & 1880s.The teapot measures approximately:

• 8" high without the lid
• 9 ¾” high with the lid
• 8 ¾” high handle to spout

The plain pattern teapot has no embellishments, other than a ring finial on the lid.  In Jean Weatherbee's book, Second Look at White Ironstone, she shows J & G Meakin using this simple shaped teapot in its lines produced in the 1870s & 1880s.

The piece is in wonderful condition with no cracks, crazing or stains.  A real show piece!

About Meakin Ironstone: The Meakin brothers, James and George, sons of James Meakin of Hanley, were master potters. In 1851 they opened a pottery firm to produce an inexpensive, plain, and durable "uniform hard white earthenware," called granite. After the end of the American Civil War, James, a shrewd businessman, saw potential in American imports. Within a decade, J & G Meakin had almost cornered the market of ironstone china in the United States. James Meakin passed his expertise on to his sons James and George, as well as sons Alfred, Charles and William. Moreover, James's son-in-law, Robert Johnson, was also a master potter, and it was his sons Henry, Robert, and Fred who established Johnson Brothers.