In the past ten years or so, following archaeological excavations at the site of his factory, scholars have recognized that Bartlam's porcelain was among the first to be produced in America, predating the better-known Bonnin and Morris wares made in Philadelphia from 1770 to 1772.
The presale estimate had been 10,000 to 20,000 pounds, but the teapot with a missing lid and a repaired handle sold for 575,000 pounds with fees, or about $806,000.
"You don't expect something that good to stroll in on the back of a general sale," said Clare Durham, the head of Woolley and Wallis' English and European ceramics department, which the consignor had acquired in 2016 from an online auction in Lincolnshire, England for about $20. "If it hadn't been for that internet bid, it probably would have ended up in a trash bin, Ms. Durham added.
Subsequent research by Ms. Durham revealed that the teapot's Chinese-style "man on the bridge" decoration exactly matched that of two saucers in a six-piece tea service sold at a regional auction in England in 2002. Then cataloged to be the Isleworth factory in England, they were later identified as being Bartlam, based on comparison with porcelain fragments excavated in South Carolina. At least five of those pieces have now been acquired by American public and private collections. One of them was a tea bowl, which resold at Christies in New York City in 2013 for $146,500.
It remains a mystery, however, as to why the only surviving items of Bartlam porcelain discovered so far have been found in England. But the Metropolitan Museum of Art in Manhattan and others suggest that a Bartlam tea service might have been sent to England for promotional purposes.
Roderick Jellicoe, a London dealer bidding on behalf of the MET added that in America they would have thrown away old porcelain, but in England it would have had a novelty value, and that may explain why someone held onto it."
Nevertheless, while visiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art last week, I was able to view this outstanding object, which is now on display in the museum's Americana Wing. Although, I spotted the teapot from a distance, surrounded by excellent examples of red earthenware, stoneware, glass and other ceramics.
According to the MET, "This rare teapot exemplifies the entrepreneurial and intrepid spirit of eighteenth century America. Bartlam, a master potter from Staffordshire, sought to compete with English luxury porcelains imported to the colonies. He used clays from deposits recently discovered in the Carolinas that were being mined and shipped to England from Charleston, South Carolina. A Chinoiserie landscape in underglaze blue features a palmetto, the state tree of South Carolina, a scene unique to his porcelain and an obvious emblem of national pride."
Note: For more information on this subject, I recommend various stories written for the 2007 and 2009 editions of Ceramics in America.
John Bartlam Soft-Paste Porcelain Teapot
Colonial 18th Century Soft-Paste Porcelain Teapot
Attributed to John Bartlam's Production at the Cain Hoy Factory in South Carolina
Circa 1765-1769
Sold at Woolley & Wallis in England in 2018 for About $806,000
However, Purchased by the Consignor in 2016 for About $20
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Photo Courtesy: Metropolitan Museum of Art
Description Displayed with the Teapot
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Photo Courtesy: Metropolitan Museum of Art
Woolley & Wallis Salesroom While the South Carolina Teapot Sold in 2018
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Photo Courtesy: Woolley & Wallis
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