A brewhaha over teapot; AUCTION.A CHIPPED teapot sold at auction yesterday for pounds 80,000 - 40 times the estimate. The 250-year-old Wedgwood teapot bears a protest message against the Stamp Act Stamp Act, 1765, revenue law passed by the British Parliament during the ministry of George Grenville. The first direct tax to be levied on the American colonies, it required that all newspapers, pamphlets, legal documents, commercial bills, advertisements, and other that led to the Boston Tea Party Boston Tea Party, 1773. In the contest between British Parliament and the American colonists before the Revolution, Parliament, when repealing the Townshend Acts, had retained the tea tax, partly as a symbol of its right to tax the colonies, partly to aid the . Two Americans fought for ownership at the auction in a hotel in Derby. Auctioneer Charles Hanson said the 5ins high teapot was in a box of bric-a-brac brought in by a local man. He said: "It's remarkable, given that it has a chipped spout, a broken body and only makes one cup of tea - although I doubt the buyer will be making tea in it." CAPTION(S): RARE Pot sold for pounds 80,000 |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion