American Toby Jug Museum 

Tortoise teapot produced by for Minton of Stoke-on-Trent, England, in a 1999 limited edition of 2,500. Tortoises are reptiles of the order Testudines. Like other turtles, tortoises have a shell to protect from predation and other threats. The shell in tortoises is generally hard and they retract their necks and heads directly backward into the shell to protect them. Tortoises can vary in size with some species, such as the Gal�pagos giant tortoise, growing to more than 3.9 feet in length. They are generally reclusive animals and are the longest-living land animals in the world. The tortoise's head is the spout of the teapot and his tail forms the handle. A snail perched on top of the tortoise forms the lid. This teapot is based on a Minton original design from around 1870.