Copeland China Tiffany & Co teapot

Got this at a neighborhood sale today. Had a few questions.

Clearly has a few issues, several hairline cracks, but no chips of any kind. There is one staple on the lid.

Here goes the questions:

Does the staple repair add value in any kind of way? (Or at least, not detract?) I read somewhere that certain collectors actually like porcelain pieces with staples.

How old do you think this piece is?

Does the "s" after Copeland refer to Spode?

Am I correct calling the cracks, "hairlines cracks". The one in the pot is a tiny bit deep in spots, running my finger along the outside I could feel it but it does not run through the entire piece. On the base and a bit up the sides where it stops.

Even with the issues, I feel this displays quite well. The gold is perfect, ditto with spout, handle etc. Just those darn cracks if you take the lid off and look inside.

Thanks for taking a look.

 

Just an off the wall comment. The lozenge, which is the raised mark, will give you the date code when the shape was registered. I imagine some time in the 1860s but I can't see it clearly enough. Check with thepotteries.org for how to read it. Very rarely do I see English pottery stamped "England" that was produced before 1891 (the McKinley tariff act required country of origin after that date ). But since this was made for Tiffany it is possible it was actually made earlier and marked as such as an identifier and marketing tool since Americans favored English ware at the time.

Blue Willow has always been a favorite pattern and this is apparently Copeland's patented version and like any registered shape could have been produced for many years after the registry.

I personally like staple repairs. But I don't know that it necessarily adds much -- it's an individual quirk and I would be hard pressed to sell a piece with staples unless it's exceedingly early and rare and would not expect to get much more than shelf display value.

In my book, a hairline is a crack. Some sellers confuse hairlines with crazing, which is fine lines in the glaze but not the body.

 

Like Birgittaw I like staple repairs, especially well executed ones like yours.
I would think worth a punt at auction and be sure to mention the verse from Auld lang syne round the top, lot of expat Scots out there. Good luck with it.

 

I think the damage is going to beat the heck out of the value - unless it's a really unusual piece. People do like staple repairs (me too), some people apparently collect such pieces, but it doesn't change the fact that the item is cracked. Even if the lid has been stabilized the pot looks unusable. You are looking at a decoration rather than a teapot. Hope I'm wrong.

I currently have a platter with a nice staple repair. I'm hoping the repair will carry it, but it's a faint hope.

I have a beautiful aesthetic period cheese holder with with several serious cracks. If I could find someone who did staple repairs, that's the way I would want to go. For some pieces it seems the right thing to do.

 

On the registry mark, just below the IV, is it a number or a letter? If a number that style of mark was used from 1868 to 1883, and the number denotes the day of the month. If it is a letter, that mark was used from 1842 to 1867 and denotes the year. This is according to Chad Lage in Pottery and Porcelain Marks.
In Blue Willow by Mary Frank Gaston your teapot is shown in a set and she writes in part
"Traditional pattern with "Auld Lang Syne" verse printed on boarders, lion finials and trim painted gold. English, W.T. Copeland, see Godden Mark 1077 (with for Tiffany * Co., New York".

That references Geoffrey A. Godden's Encyclopedia of British Pottery and Porcelain Marks.

 

>On the registry mark, just below the IV, is it a number or a letter? If a number that style of mark was used from 1868 to 1883, ... If it is a letter, that mark was used from 1842 to 1867...<

SKC.., I tried working on the registered diamond last night with the only sure results that it dates from the 1868-1883. If that is a J in the right corner, then the year is probably 1880. I determined this diamond because of a letter in the bottom corner. This was the only corner I can definitely say whether it is a letter or number. I edited the diamond with such measures as cropping, zooming, sharpening, contrasting, inverting, etc... with limited success. Definitely IV at the top, but the corners in question with the followings:

The Class mark at the top is IV for clay ware.
Top corner (Day): May be a T, I, or 7, but probably a T.
Left corner (Bundle) : May be 7 or T.
Right corner (Year) : May be 3 or J? Nowww with this probably an 1868-1883 diamond, and if this is a J, then the year is probably 1880?
Bottom corner (Month): May be G, C, or O.
http://www.thepotteries.org/mark/reg.htm

Have included copy of my edited versions in hopes those with better eyesight than me can make out the corners.

--- Susan

 

Susan, you did a great job on the mark. My photos attempts were not anywhere as clear.

Going by the 1868 - 1883 time frame this mark would read January 7, 1880.

The top corner would be a 7 - day of the month
Right corner would be a J - year - 1880
Bottom would be month C - January

Sharon

 

Wow, thank you all for the detailed help with this!

I was out this morning, finally got back to take a few photos, noticed the mystery might already be solved when I got back and saw all the responses, but here are few more photos of that mark, although Susan your enhancements might even be better. Then I tried to draw what I saw --sorry for the crude drawing, but maybe will be of some help. I'm not totally sure of the "J". Also, when taking out to get better light I noticed two things for the first time, etched in, very subtle and shallow is "1050" and the letter "A" and beneath it "07" off to the side.

 

Lucille, the additional pic of the diamond cleared up better for me. I can now see distinctly what SKC saw as to 7 in the top corner and definitely a J in the right corner. The bottom corner does look like an "O" rather than a C or G. As there is no "O" for a month code letter, that bottom letter has to be a C (January) or a G (February). I'm leaning towards SKC with it being a "C" for I don't see anything like a stoppage with a short line extending to the middle on the right side of that letter to resemble a "G". Right now 1880 is the year with the month still a little iffy. BTW, that is not a "J" to the right and high of the R. That is a small underlined "d".
Do look at the charts, etc... for the 1868-1883 registry diamonds on the following site:
http://www.thepotteries.org/mark/reg.htm#1868

--- Susan

 

Interesting that I see a Y for the year ... right hand corner. 1879. Not that I think it matters much, the period of the registry seems appropriate for the piece. Well, actually, I see a martini glass..

 

Did you like my little martini glass?

Everyone here is absolutely amazing! I learned a lot on this post. Glad for the clarification on the letters, how to determine date, etc. Thank you to everyone who helped!!!

Not anticipating huge value on this, but must say it displays well from the exterior, super strong colors and the gold is perfect- if I had a spot, I'd keep it. Also kind of cool with that staple. No making tea in it, though. I don't think it would hold up.

Kind of funny -- this was at a super popular annual neighborhood sale in our historic district, at a house with many tables set up, lots of new stuff, resin Buddhas, that kind of thing. It was several hours into the sale, packed at all times with 20 shoppers per house it seemed. I almost looked right past the teapot, the wording on the side looked modern out of my side vision, but then was struck with how finely it was done, did a second take, picked it up, saw the staple, and then the Tiffany Co mark. Figured at $5 even with the hairlines it was worth getting.

 

I wouldn't call them hairlines. A hairline crack is a crack in the ceramic that you have to search to find. A hairline is not obvious. What you have there are unmitigated cracks. If it is a desirable teapot, you may still be able to sell it, but I would not expect it to make more than a small fraction of what a perfect teapot would make.

 

Thanks, Moreotherstuff. If I do wind up selling will be sure to photograph very well and will describe the cracks. The one thing going for it is that there are no chips at all, but I know the value is going to be a fraction of what a perfect piece would have been. I might even try with a local sale on CL -- seems like this might be too damaged for a true porcelain collector, but how about someone just getting into blue and white pottery, or a decorator?

 

Just in case, keep this website bookmarked if you like English china. It's a pretty comprehensive listing of the Staffordshire factories. http://www.thepotteries.org/mark/index.html

 

Thanks, will do!

 

>...Interesting that I see a Y for the year ... right hand corner. 1879. <

Another "interesting" thing, this morning I also see a "Y"! Gee, now I don't know if it is a "Y" or a "J." Like you say, "Not that I think it matters much," because 1879 (Y) and 1880 (J) are too close together to matter a bit. Just say 1879/80.

--- Susan