Mid-20th Century Large ‘Brown Betty’ Style Octagonal Teapot with Marbled Blue and White Glaze

This is an iconic British ‘Brown Betty’ style teapot dating to the mid-20th century.

The teapot is of tapering octagonal form, with a short, galleried rim, a curved handle with thumb rest, and a short, curved spout. The teapot is glazed in a dark chocolate brown shade, with a band of powder blue around the shoulder, and a band of cream above and below this. This design then has a thin layer of mottled brown glaze over the top, to give it an overall marbled effect.

It has a circular lid, with a deep, galleried base. There is a central round knop and off-centre there is a steam hole. This is also glazed in the same mottled brown design as the body.

The teapot sits on a short, discoid base, the edge of which is unglazed, revealing the underlying ceramic body to be red or terracotta coloured. This is due to the fact that Brown Betty teapots were made with red ‘Etruria Marl’ clay. The base is impressed with the words ‘MADE IN ENGLAND’.

It has a maximum height (including the lid) of approximately 15.2cm, with a diameter across the rim of about 9.7cm and across the base of about 11.7cm. It has a maximum width from the spout tip to the edge of the handle of about 23.0cm.

It has an unwrapped weight of 930g.

It is in good condition, with no chips or cracks, although there are some burst bubbles within the glaze and some crazing to the glaze commensurate with age and use.