The Herbert Minton factory in Stoke on Trent in Staffordshire , England was no different and seemed to achieve the ultimate in teapot design with this wonderful form we feature here.

The bright majolica glaze colors add so much to this amusing design as a flatiron providing the stage for the ‘cat and mouse’ theme so beautifully. It is hard to believe that this pot was actually meant to be used to serve tea (which it was,) with even the steam vent noticeable on the lid.

This model was produced in a porcelain version, after the immediate success of the Majolica pottery example. Both were ‘registered’ with the British government to protect the design from being copied by others, and are so marked.

One would be hard-pressed to find a more interesting, whimsical and decorative Victorian Majolica teapot, circa 1870.