A Leeds creamware teapot decorated to one side with a lady taking tea in a garden setting and the words Green Tea to the other side. Sold for $10,000 (£7000) at Stair Galleries.
Doctors Wynn and Elizabeth Sayman were both physicians by trade (they met at the University of Chicago where he was a professor and she a student), but in 1980 they began Wynn A Sayman Antiques specialising in the 18th century English ceramics that they had begun to collect.
Based in Richmond, Massachusetts, and a regular at many US antiques shows, they became well known in ceramics circles.
Following the death of Elizabeth last year, the couple’s private collection was offered for sale by Stair Galleries in Hudson, New York, on January 19. Only two of 254 lots failed to find buyers with this English creamware teapot and cover leading proceedings at a multi-estimate $10,000 (£7000) plus 23% buyer’s premium.
A detail on the tea pot of a lady taking tea in a garden setting.
It sold to a US collector against the UK trade. Probably made in Leeds, c.1770, it is particularly appealing for its vibrant design inspired by textiles and the inscription Green Tea. It was in good condition with only minor wear and a hairline to the spout. More on the sale in a future issue.
