The vertical wall of this drum-shaped teapot--its base stretched to a graceful oval form--presents a classical style frieze which manages to be both severe and playful simultaneously. The figures appear on blank ground with only a couple of trees to suggest a landscape. The occupants of this barren setting are charming putti, however, whose boyish rough-housing dispels the austerity of their setting without compromising the dignity of the piece.

This frieze tops a band of engine-turned vertical striping which echoes the radial cut striping of the lid. A draped sibyl finial completes the classical composition.

Phillip Miller and Michael Berthoud, in  An Anthology Of British Teapots refer to this straight-sided oval teapot shape as both "Oval" and "Old Oval," and associate the form in general with neoclassical taste. The shape was most popular from around 1780 to 1810 and was produced in porcelain, cane ware, and stoneware, as well as basalt. 

Robin Reilly notes that the source for these frolicking boys is believed to be the Flemish sculptor Francois Duquesnoy (1594 -1643). These putti types seem to have been a specialty with M. Duquesnoy who is also responsible for Wedgwood's sleeping boy figures and whose most famous opus is Brussels' favorite tour bus stop the Manaken-pis.