Delftware teapot

The present teapot has a very unusual shape; what catches the eye the most are the flattened sides. While it has in part a Chinoiserie decoration, the sprigs of blossom in low relief on the flattened fields are more likely to be derived from designs on Japanese porcelain. An interesting detail is the painting surrounding the place where the spout is attached to the body, depicting a bird’s head with a wide-open beak, an element that was unmistakably borrowed from silver teapots. The spout of a silver trekpotje [literally translated brewing pot] often terminates in the form of a bird (water fowl) with open beak. Guilleaume Neuilleth, who started working for De Metaale Pot in 1691, is not only mentioned in the capacity of
‘beeltsnijder’ [sculptor] but also as a maker of teapots. (see previous catalogue number). In addition to being marked with the LVE monogram this unusual teapot also has a capital letter G. It is very tempting in view of the LVE monogram to relate the letter G to this iconic specialist, in the knowledge that one the leading Delftware factories thought him important enough to place under a long term contract. There is also an extant example of this shape teapot in cachemire bearing the Roos mark 1; while a similar LVE cachemire example is currently known to be in private hands.2