The National Museum of Scotland to display the most beautiful teapots you will ever see

RELAX and savour a brew as we lift the lid on the world’s most fascinating teapots.

The National Museum of Scotland is getting a £14 million makeover just in time for its 150th anniversary.

The revamp at the grand Victorian building in Edinburgh will be complete in summer 2016. There will befour new art and design and six new science and technologygalleries.

Many of the treasures in the Scottish National Collections of Art and Design, some of the most significant in Europe, will be put on show for the first time in generations.

Amongthe many gems will be a selection of amazing teapots.

iN10 caught up over a cuppa of course with James Robinson, Keeper of Art & Design, to hear the tales from the collections.

1 VEGGIE FAVOURITE Teapots from the National Museum Scotland

Made around 1760, this humorous and charming Staffordshire teapot takes the form of a cauliflower, complete with a floret for a knob!

Wares inspired by fruit and vegetables were made by several Staffordshire potters, including the famous Josiah Wedgwood.

Melon and pineapple shapes were also popular in the mid-18th Century, and there are examples of both in National Museums Scotland’s collections.

Silver and ceramic teapots modelled as fruit and vegetables were also produced by many makers during the 19th and 20th Centuries. 2 RACING CERTAINTY

This simple yet elegant silver teapot is linked to the most famous tea party in history. It was made in Aberdeen by Robert Cruickshank between 1710 and 1720 for the Middleton family in the city, who took it with them when they emigrated to Boston around 1735. One of the descendants of the family, James Lovell, was a supporter of the American Revolution and involved in the Boston Tea Party.

The famous protest took place on December 17, 1773 and escalated into the American Revolution.

The teapot remained with the family in Boston until relatively recently.

It’s on loan to National Museums Scotland from the city’s Museum of Fine Arts.

5 NAPOLEON’S GEM

One of the National Museum’s great treasures is the travelling service of the Emperor Napoleon’s sister, Princess Pauline Borghese. This was supplied by Napoleon’s official goldsmith in connection with Pauline’s marriage to Prince Camillo Borghese in 1803. It contains more than 100 items for washing, eating and drinking, and everything else that one might need when away from home. The maker, Biennais, used the space brilliantly and included specially-made objects that can be stored one inside another. The silver-gilt teapot has a completely removable, pull-off lid, which enables the tea caddy to be placed snugly inside it.

6 JUMBO TREASURE Eccentric is the word for this teapot is in the shape of an elephant and castle. The lid comes in the form of a monkey riding atop the elephant’s back.

Made around 1770 and attributed to the Staffordshire factory of Ralph Wood, it was partly intended as a political skit on the British rule of India and the problem of corruption in the East India Company.

Elephant-shaped teapots and coffee pots have been made by many later firms.

One of the most successful was the coffee pot made by the Svres porcelain factory in France which was shown off at the 1862 London International Exhibition. 7 MINI MARVEL

This unusual miniature tea set consists of a teapot, sugar basin, two cups and a cream jug.

It was made from fish bones by a German prisoner of war while he was convalescing in the North Hospital Block of Edinburgh Castle during the First World War.

It was not unusual for men who were convalescing to make objects from whatever items they had to hand. Indeed it was something of a tradition in PoW camps, and toys and trinkets were made using materials like wood and straw.

Some objects had practical uses, some were a way of coping with the monotony of captivity and others were traded for little luxuries like cigarettes. 8 SEAFARING SPECIALITY This is a cube-shaped teapot produced by George Clews and

Co. Ltd under licence from Cube Teapots Ltd around 1925 1935.

The design was revolutionary,

ultra-modern and completely different to anything seen before.

The small spout barely protrudes from the top corner, thus preventing drips, chips and knocks, while the recessed handle made lifting the pot both safe and easy.

It was also designed to be stackable and robust, making it perfect for use on ocean liners including the QE2.

It was selected for use in the state rooms of the liner Queen Mary and the design was used on board Cunard liners into the 1980s.

9 VICTORIAN SHOCKER Everything is not as it seems when it comes to this quirky teapot by Royal Worcester.

Dated 1882, one side depicts a flamboyant young man dressed as a dandy and wearing a sunflower, while the other shows a woman wearing a lily.

Designed to lampoon the aesthetic movement of the period which championed pure beauty and counted Oscar Wilde among its advocates the base is inscribed with the words: “Fearful consequences, through the laws of natural selection and evolution of living up to one’s teapot.”

A great example of satirical Victorian porcelain, it would have been rather shocking at the time.

10 APPLIANCE OF SCIENCE This rare teapot looks incredibly contemporary but it was actually designed in around 1879 by Dr Christopher Dresser.

A Glasgow-born botanist, Dresser was also one of the most talented British designers of the 19th Century and his schemes were very much ahead of their time.

His significance lies in his emphasis on taking a scientific approach to harmonising form and function.

This important teapot is a magnificent example of Dresser’s work and was inspired by Japanese design.

Dresser was instrumental in helping make Japanese design principles and aesthetics popular in Europe and America.