This teapot is modelled in the shape of a melon with melon and leaf finial, conforming to the fashion for naturalistic forms and shapes. Melon-shaped teawares and mustard pots were inspired by 18th century Dutch silverware and were widely available in the 19th century.
It is decorated with bright-cut engraved panels and bears the arms of the families of Wasey and Moncton, commemorating the marriage of the Reverend William Wasey and Eliza Moncton on 23rd June 1844. The moralising motto underneath reads Pejus letho flaqitium time, translating as ‘Disgrace is worse than death’, and the opposite side bears the falcon crest of the Wasey family.
The makers, Joseph and Albert Savory, began working for their father Adey Bellamy Savory, a silversmith of Huguenot origin, in 1833 and worked at multiple locations around London including Red Lion Street and Cornhill.
