I’ve had this intriguing teapot for about a year . It was made possibly by Joseph and Albert Savory with LONDON hallmarks for 1841 It says The Princess Royal on the front and The Gift of her Godfather JWD on the back Princess Victoria Adelaide Mary Louisa was Christened in Buckingham Palace Nov 10th 1841 It is beautifully engraved Any thoughts on this would be very welcome .......
If it truly has Royal provenance, it's worth a pretty penny. Beautiful regardless. It really does look like there ought to be a genie inside.
It is gorgeous, Wendlekins. I don't know the maker's mark, but the other marks are correct for London 1841. With the inscription, it is certainly something you would want to know more about. Have you found out if she had a godfather JWD?
The question is whether there is documented chain of ownership to go with the engraved info. Where and how did you acquire it?
Her Godparents were Godparents: Leopold I, King of the Belgians (her paternal and maternal great-uncle) Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (her paternal grandfather) Prince Augustus, Duke of Sussex (her maternal great-uncle) Dowager Queen Adelaide (widow of her maternal great-uncle King William IV, born Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen) Duchess of Gloucester (her maternal great-aunt, Princess Mary) Duchess of Kent (her maternal grandmother, Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld) So the initials don't seem to relate to any of them. However it could be an abbreviation for something perhaps?
And the initials inside the garter with "Princess Royal" engraved on it don't seem to match hers either.
I don’t think she has a godfather JWD , I wonder if these initial were added afterwards by another owner ?
The question is 'How much did you pay?' That might give a clue. How heavily was it tarnished? A point supporting the suggestion that the initials are from a latter owner, is that Godfather and JWD are in different a typefaces (British, French or German, this might to where it was added). Wonderful things the French Brocante, Pouce (flea market), or Vide Grenier (empty loft). They beat car boot sales, possibly because they have different rubbish - except in this case. Badly disrupted this year. I hope it comes true and it is genuine.
If you come up against a bottleneck, why not contact the curator at the Victoria & Albert Museum, I would expect him to swoon when he hears your story. Victoria and Albert Museum Cromwell Road London SW7 2RL Tel: +44 (0)20 7942 2000 Email: hello@vam.ac.uk