AMONG the earliest pieces produced by Josiah Wedgwood in his “black porcelaine” were seals, intaglios, gems and cameos copied from originals, the sort of thing found on display in cabinets.

A chipped teapot sold at auction yesterday for £80,000 - 40 times the estimate. The 250-year-old Wedgwood teapot bears a protest message against the Stamp Act that led to the Boston Tea Party ...