Spode Black Basalt Egyptian Tea Pot
A Spode black basalt ('Black Egyptian') tea pot, circa 1800, of compressed globular 'Egyptian' shape with a foliate-modelled and moulded handle and spout, the cover with bee-hive finial within a raised pie-crust rim, the body rouletted with an engine-turned band to the waist, the cover conforming. Height 2.95 in. Width 7.09 in.
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- Finial - An architectural decoration, found on the upper parts of of an object. On furniture they are usually found on pediments, canopies and shelf supports. On smaller ceramic or silver items, such as spoons, they may decorate the top of the item itself, or the lid or cover where they provide a useful handle for removal.
Finials have a variety of shapes and forms. They may be urn-shaped, baluster shaped round or spiral, but usually taper into an upper point. Many real life shapes may also be used as finials, such as pineapples, berries, pinecones, buds, lotus and acorns. Sometimes animals such as a lion are depicted, or fish and dolphins. - Circa - A Latin term meaning 'about', often used in the antique trade to give an approximate date for the piece, usually considered to be five years on either side of the circa year. Thus, circa 1900 means the piece was made about 1900, probably between 1895 and 1905. The expression is sometimes abbreviated to c.1900.
- Basalt - Basalt is a hard, dense volcanic rock formed from the rapid cooling of basaltic lava, and makes up most of the earth's oceanic crust.
However it is also the name given by Josiah Wedgwood in 1768 to a fine black unglazed porcelain which he called Wedgwood Black Basalt.
Using this fine-grained stoneware he was able to produce copies of the newly excavated Etruscan pottery from Italy, with a lustrous and smooth, surface, and this new innovation proved to be a huge commercial success.
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