Charles Coxon's models were often inspired by English sources (see also B.57.23 and B.63.14), in this case Samuel Alcock and Company of Staffordshire. Ten-sided teapots with molded figures at a well were produced in enormous numbers by Bennett and commonly bore the legend “Rebekah and the Well” embossed on a rectangle below the scene.  Several factors, however, suggest that this example is an early Bennett model preceding the Rebekahs. The clarity of the mold and lightness of the body differ from most  Rebekahs. The embossed title below clearly identifies it as “Rachel at Jacob’s Well,” not Rebekah. In addition, the lid of this pot is not, as is die norm with the Rebekahs, fitted out with lugs, an improved Bennett design that prevented the lid from coming off when the pot was being poured.

Marks: E. & W. BENNETT / CANTON AVENUE / BALTIMORE MD. (impressed on base; Barber 1976a, p. 343).

Technical notes: The lid is broken and repaired. The body is more sharply molded and noticeably lighter than the Rebekah examples.

Description: Ten-sided teapot with raised figure of a woman holding a ewer standing by a well on each side; impressed in raised rectangle below, "RACHEL AT JACOB’S WELL.” Swanneck spout with molded design on each side. Scroll-type handle. Separate domed lid with floral finial.

Related examples: Barber 1976b, pp. 196-97, fig. 83 (Barber, Edwin Atlee. The Pottery and Porcelain of the United States. Third edition, 1909. Reprint, combined with Marks of American Potters , New York: Feingold and Lewis, 1976. ; Ramsay 1939, p. 51, pl. 12 (Ramsey, John.  American Potters and Pottery. Boston: Hale, Crushman and Flint, 1939. ; Stradling 1997, p. 336 (Stradling, J. G. “Puzzling Aspects of the Most Popular Piece of American Pottery Ever Made.” Antiques 151 (Feb 1997): 332-37.

Book excerpt: Warren, David B., Michael K. Brown, Elizabeth Ann Coleman, and Emily Ballew Neff. American Decorative Arts and Paintings in the Bayou Bend Collection. Houston: Princeton Univ. Press, 1998.