Teapot, c.1795

This teapot is painted with views of Derbyshire by Zachariah Boreman, and flower garlands by William Billingsley. Boreman was not the first artist to decorate ceramics with topographical views. Josiah Wedgwood’s “Green Frog” service which was completed for the Empress Catherine II of Russia in 1774, was widely publicised and exhibited. But Boreman’s views are not of wealthy country houses and parks, or medieval castles, but mainly of the local Derbyshire dales. They are in tune with the romantic landscapes by Wright of Derby, who was a close friend of Boreman.

Image from: Derby Museum and Art Gallery