Pontiac Tea Set from Newtone Bakewell Brothers Pottery Sydney.

The fabulous Art Deco styling of this tea set jumped out at me from Facebook Marketplace.

Bakewell’s Pontiac Tea Set

Newtone Pontiac Tea Pot

Gold Plated Pontiac Milk Jug

Could it really be an example of the very rare Pontiac Tea Set made by Bakewell’s Pottery  between 1935-40?

I had to find out, so I snapped it up.

So what do you think? Have I found a treasure. It is definitively the same shape and size (made from the same mould?) as the 2 items that I have found on the internet.

Have a look at the blue set on the National Gallery of Victoria website: https://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/explore/collection/work/86110/

Have a look at the green set on the Gibson’s Auctions website: https://www.gibsonsauctions.com.au/auction-lot/bakewell-potterya-rare-art-deco-slipware-‘pontiac_C944B918B2

Pontiac Tea Set from NGV website

Pontiac Tea Set from Gibson’s Auctions

My Tea Set Base

Both these website references say the set is ‘stoneware’, but mine feels like fine china to me. It does not have the weight and feel of stoneware or the other Bakewell’s items I have in my collection. See my Bakewells Pottery Sydney Article

Neither of these website references show the base of the items, but they both say they are from the Newtone range. My Marjorie Graham book has a picture of the sugar bowl (in blue) and says it is marked ‘Newtone’. My set has nothing at all marked on any of the bases.

The burgundy colour reminds me of the burgundy Art Deco Beula Ware canisters that Bakewell’s made in the 1930s. The gold is beautiful and looks just as rich as the 22ct gold on my mum’s tea set that dates from the 1950s.

So, did somebody buy the moulds for the Pontiac Tea Set and produce it in the 1950s, or is this a very rare original Bakewell’s set?

As the owner of many unmarked Bakewell’s pieces, I am going to attribute it to Bakewell’s… at least until someone proves otherwise.

Happy bargain hunting and collecting.