Appraisal: 1925 Japanese & English Doulton-style Teapots

GUEST: This one was actually a family teapot, and they used it every Sunday.

And we just saw this one in a market, and we just said, "Oh," you know, "that, that's similar to that.

Is one a copy or is one not?"

Uh... What's the better piece?

APPRAISER: Well, that's the great question.

GUEST: Yeah.

APPRAISER: They're obviously very, very similar.

This was probably made five years after this was made.

GUEST: Oh, okay.

APPRAISER: This one is marked "Made in Japan."

GUEST: Right.

APPRAISER: Earthenware, you used it for tea.

The moisture leaches through the bottom and stains brown.

GUEST: Okay.

APPRAISER: That's how you know it's earthenware.

Uh, '30s mark.

GUEST: Okay.

APPRAISER: Typical Japanese piece from between the wars.

GUEST: Yeah.

APPRAISER: This is the English piece, the precedent, this is probably from the '20s.

GUEST: Okay.

APPRAISER: And the Japanese were really good at copying things.

GUEST: Yeah.

APPRAISER: And they could make this for a fraction of what this maker charged, so they can go back to the English market or any market with the same piece and offer it for half-price.

Interesting about this piece, though, is, this is genuine Staffordshire, hand-painted, England.

But they were copying, too.

You have an English copy of an English piece, and a Japanese copy of an English copy of an English piece.

GUEST: Yeah.

You answered a, like, a family mystery, for us.

APPRAISER: Okay.