The Artful Teapot

Based on its universal appeal and everyday use, tea has inspired the creation of exquisite objets d’art; above all, the spouted, steaming engine of hospitality: the teapot. In fact, the teapot has drawn widespread attention from the world’s leading designers and artists for centuries because it is what French sculptor Arman calls one of the key objects of our time. This delightful book celebrates the chameleon-like form of the teapot, and how it is considered not only an icon for hospitality but also an inventive vehicle for artistic expression. The Artful Teapot features, in full, lavish color, more than 200 enchanting teapots representing its 500-year history of enjoyment and use. Readers will find captivating examples from Yixing—the birthplace of the teapot—as well as such famous producers as Meissen, Minton, Wedgwood, and others. Here are artful teapots that balance form, surface, and function in search of beauty . . . revolutionary teapots seeking—fascinatingly but fruitlessly—to improve on this most perfect invention . . . teapots inspired by natural forms . . . teapots made from surprising materials like dollar bills, glass beads, and soda cans . . . teapots used as a format for politics or propaganda . . . teapots using animals or people as their subject . . . and last but not least, the teapot created purely for art’s sake—pots removed from function, where tea evaporates and imagination replaces the fragrant leaf as content. Plus, fascinating text written by Garth Clark, the preeminent scholar of modern ceramics, provides an appealing discussion of these objets d’art that is as provocative, playful, and profound as the teapots themselves. • Teapots featured in this book form the basis for an exhibition that opened in November 2001 at the American Craft Museum in New York City, which is traveling until 2004, visiting six other American museums • First comprehensive guide featuring the artistic beauty of teapots through five centuries of use