In the early decades of production, the Meissen manufactory sold undecorated porcelain to independent painters known as Hausmaler or ‘home painters’ who would decorate and then sell these pieces on. This teapot was painted in the workshop of the German brothers Abraham and Bartolomäus Seuter who were highly skilled painters based in Augsburg, an important artistic centre in the 18th century. The palette used by their workshop is restricted to iron red camaïeu, whereby two or three tints of a single colour to create a monochromatic image. The two scenes depicting dogs in pastoral woodlands are based on an engraving by Johann Elias Ridinger (1698-1767), one of the most famous German engravers of animals whose work was a popular source of inspiration for ceramic decoration.
