American Toby Jug Museum 

The Witch teapot produced by Thorley China of Longton, England, circa 1955 under its Thorley Ware tradename. A witch is a person alleged to have received supernatural powers from evil spirits, generally to harm people or to damage their property. Witchcraft as practiced in countries with European tradition and culture is anti-Christian and involves an association with the devil. The word witch comes from the Anglo-Saxon word wicca meaning wise one. People believe a witch can bring harm to her victims by using various methods. Most often she lures them to drink magic potions, mutilates small wax or wooden figures made in their image, or casts spells. Persecution of witches dates back many centuries. In 1431, the French national heroine, Joan of Arc, was tried as a witch and burned at the stake by the English. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries thousands were tried and executed as witches. The Witch's familiar black cat forms the handle of this teapot.