Teapot

Object NameTeapot

Manufacturer Staffordshire (English)

Datec. 1750

OriginEngland

MediumStoneware with enamel painted salt glaze

Dimensions3 3/16 × 6 1/4 × 3 in. (8.1 × 15.9 × 7.6 cm) Other: 1/4 × 1 15/16 in. diameter (0.6 × 4.9 cm)

ClassificationsDecorative Arts, Ceramics

Credit LineGift of Ann and Henry Brunnier. In the Ann and Henry Brunnier Collection, Brunnier Art Museum, University Museums, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa.

Object number2.8.2ab

Status

Not on view

Collections

Decorative Arts

CultureEnglish

Label TextThe area of Staffordshire, England, readily accommodated the ceramics industry, due to a local abundance of clays and coal for firing. In the early seventeenth century, potters in the area included Wedgwood, Copeland, Spode, Whieldon and others, most of which at the time did not mark their wares. Marks did not come into general use until the late eighteenth century, making it difficult to attribute earlier work to a specific factory. The English never matched the ceramic technology of mainland Europe and Asia. However, their treatment of clay produced beautifully designed wares. Sources of influence for English form and decoration included European firms such as Meissen and Sevres, and especially Asian wares, both Chinese and Japanese. The mid- eighteenth- century English preference for the arts of Asia is most obvious in this diminutive salt-glazed stoneware teapot with fanciful motifs derived from Chinese imagery. The teapot is hexagonal, accommodating six different enamel-painted chinoiserie designs in low relief. The particularly charming and unusual panel depicting a camel and carriage indicated an artist unacquainted with the humped Asian mammal. English wares were generally less expensive than their European counterparts, making this unusual piece an exquisite example of the Chinese- inspired ceramic wares available to the middle classes. This teapot is a salt glaze ware with a chinoiserie design. Chinoiserie is a style or ornamentation used chiefly in the 18th century in Europe, characterized by intricate patterns and an extensive use of motifs identified as Chinese.

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