Mystery Tea Set Identified

Q: I have several pieces that all belong to the same set: a coffee pot, a small plate, a regular cup and saucer, and a demitasse cup and saucer, but at the moment, I’m particularly interested in the coffee pot.  Regarding provenance, these items belonged to the family of my wife’s former in-laws, who immigrated […]

Snub Snout Teapot

Q: I believe this is called a “hog pot,” but I’m not sure if that’s correct. I bought this at a Goodwill store in 2020. The bottom is marked “Conrad ’83.” It looks like the artist used a pottery tool to write their mark. The piece has navy and brown glaze. It’s 6 1/2 inches by 5 inches with a 4-inch bamboo handle.

A: Teapots have been made in the shape of pigs, but we haven’t heard them called “hog pots.” The handle on most teapots goes from the front (spout) to the back. Your teapot has a swing handle attached side to side. It seems it would be difficult to pour the tea unless you use the button “tail” to help tilt the pot. Your teapot with a “snub nose” side spout is a piece of art pottery, evidently made by an artist named “Conrad” in 1983. The value of art pottery depends partly on the importance of the maker. Similar teapots sell for $26 to $28.

De Montfort Silver

Q: Can you identify the mark on the coffee and tea set pictured here? I have a set that consists of five items – a teapot, coffeepot, creamer, an open sugar bowl, and a sugar bowl with a lid. They are marked “E.P.N.S.,” “De Montfort Plate, Made in England.”

A: There is very little information about the company that made your coffee and tea set. We found silver plated flatware marked “De Montfort” and “Sheffield, England,” indicating the company worked in Sheffield. It may have been in business as early as the 1920s and was still in business until at least the late 1940s. The initials “E.P.N.S.” stand for “electroplated nickel silver.” The “open sugar” is probably a “waste bowl.” Replacements.com pictures pieces in this pattern but may be out of stock. They may be able to tell you what they have sold for in the past.

Demitasse Set

Q: I have a demitasse set, never used, that was my mother’s. When she died, my sister and I split it up. It consists of a teapot, coffeepot, creamer and sugar, 10 little cups and saucers, and 10 plates about 7 1/2 inches in diameter. Each item has a different painted scene. My Mom was told the set was made for royalty. Some pieces are marked with a lamb and “Dresden, Made in Saxony,” and most have a gold rose over the writing. Another piece says, “Made in Germany, Guaranteed hand painted,” another piece says, “special order, painted at Lambs studio.” What can you tell me about this set? Is it worth anything?

A: The mark of a lamb above the word “Dresden” was used by Ambrosius Lamm. He opened a decorating studio in Dresden, Germany, in 1887 and decorated white blanks made by porcelain manufacturers in Meissen. The gold rose was used to cover the maker’s mark. After Lamm retired in 1934, his daughter, Clara, and Rudolf Pitschke, a former employee, took over the business. This mark with “Made in Saxony” was used after 1934. The road where the studio was located was destroyed during the bombing of Dresden in 1944 but the studio may have been in business until 1949. Porcelain decorated by Lamm’s studio, with gilt trim, sells for high prices. Sets sell for over $2,000.

World War II Teapot

Q: This teapot was part of my aunt’s estate. It’s black with raised blue and pink dots, gold lettering and trim, and is 5 1/2 inches high. It says “For U.S.A. Britain and Democracy” on the lid. There is a looped rope mark on the bottom and the words “World War II, Made in England, Escorted to United States by the Allied Fleets.” It has a tag with the British flag and “Britain carries on” on one side and the story of how this teapot was made to sell in America. What is it worth?

A: The looped rope mark is called the Staffordshire knot. Several Staffordshire potteries made these teapots and sold them in the United States to raise money for the war effort in Britain during World War II. Some teapots were made with slightly different wording on the lid and “Escorted to the U.S.A. by Royal Navy” on the bottom. Your tag explains that they were made by women who replaced men “employed in defense of their country.” Credit for the sale of the teapots was applied to the debt Britain owed the United States for the purchase of war material. Merchant ships crossing the Atlantic during the war were protected from enemy attack by escort ships from the United States, England and Canada. The original hang tag adds provenance to your teapot. It’s rare to find the pot with the tag. Value of your teapot: up to $90 with the tag.

Reliance Teapot

Q: I’d like some information about the maker, age and value of this teapot. It’s decorated with raised dots and flowers and is marked “Reliance” above a rectangle with “Rd No 416505” and “Made in England.”

A: The Rd number is the English design registry number, which shows the design was registered in 1903. The words “Made in England” were usually used after 1915. This design number was used on teapots made by Gibson & Sons Ltd. The company was in business in Burslem, England, from 1885 to 1965, when it moved to Shelton, England. It closed in the mid 1970s. Gibson & Sons was known for its teapots. The pottery made “The Largest Teapot in the World” for an exhibition in the early 1900s. The teapot held 1024 cups of tea and had a normal-size teapot as the handle on the lid. Value, $50 to $100.