Collectibles-General (Antiques)/old metal teapot

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Expert: Martin G Roberts - 1/11/2009


Question

metal teapot
thankyou for my last reply martin srry i never gave enough info on the metal its made from but im not sure what it is? its the markings i hoped you might know about to give me some idea where its from and who might of used it etc and of course if it was worth any money ive added a photo to see if it would help identify it on the base is OSL and RR any ideas???

Answer
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Hello again Gary,

Thanks for the photo - that makes it possible to make some progress.

As I said before, the marks you describe do not appear to have been noted from either pewter or copper pieces, so are not something that I can identify for you. So we can proceed only from the appearance of the piece.

It is a teapot, as you say, and the design combines features from the late 18th Century with later characteristics. So I would assign a tentative date of about 1820, but with little confidence, and it could quite a bit later than that. It probably was made in either America or Britain, but it might also originate from elsewhere in North America or Europe.

The metal appears from the photo to be yellow/orange in colour, implying it is a copper based alloy. Such alloys often give misleading colours in photos, making it difficult to consistently distinguish, say, copper from brass. So I cannot make any further assumptions about the material.

However, I do not think the teapot would have appeared this colour when new. It probably was silver plated, but now the silvering seems to have been removed, either by polishing over many years, or by aggressive cleaning sometime.

The holes in the handle are there to ventilate the hollow interior of the handle. This avoided the risk of the handle being 'blown' when the heat from the pot caused trapped air to expand, and helped keep the handle cool so that it could be safely picked up when full of hot water.

I would say it was constructed from sheet metal, rather than being cast, and that it would have been made in a manufactory where such pieces were made in quantity - it is certainly not an amateur piece of work.

So, not very helpful I'm afraid, but that is about all I can tell you. As I cannot I identify the date, origin, or material with certainty, I cannot give an estimate of value.

Hope that helps.

Martin
www.antique-metalware.co.uk
    Questioner's Rating
    Rating(1-10)Knowledgeability = 5Clarity of Response = 10Politeness = 10
    Commentthanks for a little info on the teapot


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Martin G Roberts

Expertise

Pewter of the 19th Century and earlier from the British Isles and Ireland. I can comment on origin, date, rarity, and value. I cannot give detailed information on 'art' metalware, Art Deco, Art Nouveau or Arts & Crafts metalware. See my website for more information: www.antique-metalware.co.uk.

Experience

A collector for twelve years and a dealer for seven.

Publications
Journal of the Pewter Society
Pewter Society Newsletter
Bulletin of the Pewter Collectors' Club of America

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