A George III Scottish provincial silver teapot or coffee pot stand, Aberdeen circa 1765 by James Wildgoose (active 1763-75)

Of shaped circular form with shaped cavetto edge and scrolling stylised shell rim. Plain field. Raised on three pad feet. Marked with makers mark twice to reverse of rim edge.

Diameter – 18 cm / 7.05 inches

Weight – 253 grams / 8.13 ozt

James Wildgoose (b. 1734) was apprenticed to Coline Allan, who was himself apprenticed to George Cooper. George Cooper was a prominent tea ware maker, and Allan was known to produce much holloware. While the majority of Wildgoose’s surviving pieces are spoons, there are two teapots in museum collections each of inverted baluster form raised on three legs.

The positioning of the marks on the outer part of the rim is most unusual, this position has been noted on an Irish coffee pot stand marked to the reverse for William Townsend (fl.1726-75) and thrice to the rim for Michael Walsh (fl. 1758-61). Given that Townsend was a prolific maker of waiters and salvers and Walsh was not it suggests that this marking on the rim may have been adopted by items what were bought in by makers for wholesale. In addition to this a large salver (42 cm) marked to the rim for Carden Terry of Cork, which further suggests this was a marking practice adopted for bought in pieces. If this is the case and given that most surviving pieces by Wildgoose are spoons it may be that this piece was bought-in from Wildgoose’s master Coline Allan (fl. 1748-1774).

The attribution to Wildgoose over John Warner of Cork is based on the rim style being that of the 1760’s whereas Warner became a freeman in 1775 and died in 1810. This form of foot is also seen on stands from Aberdeen makers such as George Cooper. Although the makers mark is poorly struck there is a noticeable space in between the I and the W as well as the serifs on the W which are found on spoons with the IW mark and ABD.