![Minton teapot](https://gazette-eu-west2.azureedge.net/media/82942/img_1-2.jpg?width=750&height=500&mode=max&updated=08%2f15%2f2022+10%3a36%3a29)
Minton teapot modelled as a tortoise – £1900 at Boldon Auction Galleries.
The range of Minton designs include rarities such as the vulture and snake, the spiny fish, a cockerel and a cat on a flatiron.
This naturalistic model of a tortoise and snail, made by Minton, carries a date cypher for 1878 and is recorded in the factory archives as shape number 629.
With a broken and reglued handle, it came for sale at Boldon Auction Galleries in East Boldon, Sunderland, on August 10, via a valuation day, with a guide of £300-500.
The winning bid tendered on the phone was £1900 plus 17.5% buyer’s premium.