While the inspiration of Japan provided European designers with a fresh repertory of motifs to copy, it also seems to have given new freedom to their imagination. The enameled terra cotta teapot by Watcombe combines a variety of motifs, but manages to maintain its own harmony--with a touch of whimsy, that is.

The circular form gives the appearance of a bundle of upright cylinders--perhaps bamboo stalks, perhaps the Japanese print rollers that Western designers found fascinating. The surface of each scallop is embellished with relief panels of bamboo foliage. A cluster of these leaves on the lid serves as a resting place for a grinning mythical dog figure that keeps watch over the steeping brew. Black enameling separates the scallop panels and accents the handle and twig or "crabstock" spout--a feature with plenty of precedent in European pots, but fits in perfectly with this Asian-inspired fantasy.

The Watcombe pottery is an example of a ceramic manufacture whose origins are linked to a specific natural clay deposit. In the 1860's fine red clay was discovered outside Torquay in Devon. Initial success in selling the clay as raw material for potters led to the establishment of a local ceramics works in 1869. The young pottery was praised by Llewellyn Jewitt in his classic 1883 account of the British ceramic industry. Through a variety of decorative techniques and styles, the unifying element of Watcombe's product is its reliance on its high quality terra cotta body. 

The eminent Victorian designer Christopher Dresser is often associated with the Watcombe Pottery, but the details of the association remain undocumented. While the originality and exoticism of this teapot may suggest his influence, we resist the common tendency to attribute design to Dr. Dresser recklessly.