Antiques & Collecting: Saffron teapots

There’s nothing like a hot drink on a cold day! How about a hot chocolate? Spiced apple cider? Maybe a warm cup of freshly steeped saffron?

That last one might sound odd to us, but it’s a popular drink across many cultures and has been for hundreds of years.

Saffron, a spice made from the stigma of a type of crocus, has been prized for its flavor, color, fragrance and purported health benefits since antiquity.

As a drink, it can be steeped as an herbal tea — or, as some tea purists insist, tisane or herbal infusion — on its own or with other spices or herbs, or it can be blended with tea leaves to add color and flavor to the brew.

Saffron tea was fashionable for a time in Victorian England, with special teapots made specifically for it, like this one made by silversmith Charles Fox in the mid-1800s. It sold for $218 at World Auction Gallery. It is about 4-inches tall.

Saffron teapots were smaller than common teapots and meant to brew small quantities. Saffron tea would have been a luxury, taken only a little bit at a time.

Throughout the long history of its use, saffron has always been, and still is, expensive. At some points in history, it has been worth its weight in gold, or even more.

I have not been able to identify the mark on a beautiful vase. It has the letters “RH” inside a shield underneath a crown, all in red. Any idea who the company is?

This mark was used by Robert Hanke Porcelain Factory from about 1900 to 1918. The factory was founded in Ladowitz, Bohemia, Austria — now Ledvice, Czech Republic — in 1882 and operated until 1945.

They made decorative porcelain and giftware, some of which resembles the more expensive Amphora porcelain made in the nearby Turn-Teplitz region. Vases like yours generally sell for about $50 to $100 today.

Pottery and porcelain made in the regions formerly called Bohemia and Czechoslovakia are popular with collectors. A club like the Czech Collectors Association, at czechcollectors.org, may have more information.

Tip: Don’t place any sticky tape on the top of a teapot. The decoration may come off with the tape. Secure a top with dental wax or earthquake wax.

Current Prices

Purse, mesh, enamel, multicolor flowers, white and green ground, serrated fringe, metal frame, chain strap, Whiting & Davis, art deco, 5 1/2 x 4 1/2 inches, $95.

Castor jar, blue crackle glass, enamel flower vine, silver plate frame, mechanical lid, Pairpoint, 12 inches, $180.

Canton, basket, chestnut, pierced sides, blue rim, shell handles, underplate, pierced rim, c. 1850, 5 x 10 x 9 inches, $250.

Sampler, verse, three alphabets, numerals, three flowering plants, frame, signed, dated, Phebe Snow LEOminster, Massachusetts, 1821, 11 1/2 x 18 1/2 inches, $695.

Walrath, cider set, stylized branch with leaves and fruit, brown ground, angled handle, slightly tapered, pitcher, four mugs, marked, c. 1910, pitcher 7 1/2 inches, five pieces, $2,520.