teapot; lid BM-Franks.806.+

Period:Qing dynasty Production date:1770-1780 (circa)
Materials:porcelain
Technique:glazed, painted,
Subjects:heraldry symbol
Dimensions:Diameter: 10.10 centimetres (Lid) Height: 5.10 centimetres (Lid) Height: 17 centimetres (Pot with lid) Height: 12.60 centimetres (Pot) Weight: 0.10 grammes (Lid) Weight: 0.65 kilograms (Pot with lid) Weight: 0.55 kilograms (Pot) Width: 22.50 centimetres (Pot (including spout and handle))

Description:
‘Famille rose’ teapot and cover with the royal arms of England. The globular teapot has a branch-like spout, domed lid with pointed knob, and a replacement handle of metal and wicker-work. The teapot is decorated with a coat of arms enclosed within a belt, which bears the French mottos ‘DIEU ET MON DROIT’ (‘God and my honour’) and ‘HONI SOIT QUI MAL Y PENSE’ (‘the shame be his who thinks ill of it’), supported by a lion and a unicorn. These arms rest on a cartouche of Masonic emblems including a square, level, plumb-line, gavel, apron, sword, and lewis. The neck of the teapot and the cover have a spearhead border and the cover is further painted with delicate flowers.
IMG


Comments:Harrison-Hall and Krahl 1994:This coat of arms and motto were employed by successive English monarchs from 1714 until 1801, when George III renounced his title of King of France and the arms were altered to remove the French fleurs-de-lis (Howard, 1974, p. 499; for a bowl from the same service). However, it is unlikely that the service to which this teapot belonged was made for a member of the English Royal Family. Although George III’s son, Henry Frederick, was Grand Master (i.e. highest member of the Freemasons), his period of office was from 1782 to 1790 and would seem to postdate this piece. The royal arms may refer instead to the name of a tavern in which a particular group of Freemasons met, such as the King’s Arms (see BM Franks. 741+ and BM Franks. 741+A). The shape of this teapot with its branch-like spout is copied from European ceramics. Other pieces with this design include another teapot with a replacement spout in the Mottahedeh collection (Howard and Ayers, 1978, vol. I, no. 319) a punchbowl in the Bullivant collection (Howard, 1974, p. 499), a teapoy in the Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum, U.S.A. (mentioned by Howard, 1974, p. 499), and a tea cup in the Freemasons Hall Museum, London.