This teapot was awarded as a prize for military endeavour and is engraved with the inscription ‘Prize the 2nd Given by Capt. Storrie’s Company 1st Regt. R.E.V. and Won by J. Monro 1803’. Silver teapots, such as this, were often presented as trophies for gaming, racing or military valour. Made in 1802, shortly after the Act of Union that brought together the Kingdom of Ireland with the Kingdom of Great Britain, the body of the teapot is decorated with a band of bright-cut engraving depicting roses, thistles and shamrock, representing England, Scotland and Ireland.
Duncan Urquhart and Naphtali Hart were Jewish silversmiths working in London during the late 18th and early 19th centuries, specialising in the production of tea wares. They recorded their first manufacturer’s mark as ‘bucklemakers’ at the London Goldsmiths office in 1791, and registered a further three marks as partners in 1795, 1802 and 1805. The presentoir or stand is a later addition, made by Scottish silversmiths in Edinburgh.
