Naples Ferdinandea Scenic Teapot

This is a very rare tea pot made in Naples , Real Fabbrica Ferdinandea in about 1795. The Capodimonte factory existed near Naples from 1743 until 1759. It had little to do with the Naples factory which was founded by Ferdinand IV in 1771 and was around until 1806 when the French occupied it and after that the molds, etc. were sold all over the place. The teapot has a nice oval shape to it with an amazing lid that has a lioness as the finial - so Roman :) Each side has a large hand painted harbor scene to it including the water, buildings, ships, people and off course the landscape surrounding. I love these types of pieces because the scenes show how everyday life was back over 200 years ago. Some nice well palces gold trim make this one elegant piece. The piece is in good condition and displays perfectly but there is a small chip to the lioness' ear and the spout has had some work done to it. There is so much over paint that it is impossible to tell what but enough is scratched off to reveal the original porcelain underneath that I suspect it was a break in the spout close to the main body. No way of knowing unless you takke all the over paint off and redo it. It was well done with the paint having slighly discolored over time but still blends in well with the rest of the piece. Rare enough that is really doesn't matter as much since you're not going to find another one. The teapot is not marked except for an incised L but that's pretty common. The piece including the lid is about 6 inches tall, 9 inches from handle to spout and 3.75 inches wide. Please email me for more information or other pictures.