The egg-shaped body, capped by a very shallow domed cover with a gilded fruit knob, has a rather slender spout and an ear-shaped handle that is known as the théière calabre (Calabria teapot). The body of this piece has two chinoiserie scenes. The first depicts a young man wearing exotic clothing and a hat, seated on the ground and chatting with a small child who squats cross-legged beside him while pointing up to the sky. The second scene...shows a young, elegant woman resting against a rock while a seated child holds a very carefully detailed parasol over her head as protection from the sun. Landscape elements are seen in the background including a plant at the left and a tree at the right. Other aspects of the design include an unusual gilding of scrolls, lightning bolts, winged dragons, phoenix birds, irregular shapes and stylized Oriental flowers. The curvilinear decoration wends around the base and top of the piece creating a pattern that would later be of use to art nouveau designers in the 1890s. There is a shield-like design on the spout; a shagreen type pattern is found on the cover.

from Weisberg, A Taste for Porcelain: The Virginia A. Marten Collection of Decorative Arts (Notre Dame, 2014)