Monkey teapot
Porcelain and enamels, J.J. Kändler (modeller), Meissen, Germany, ca.1735
Find Out More
Monkey teapot
Porcelain and enamels, J.J. Kändler (modeller), Meissen, Germany, ca.1735
The Chitra Collection is an extraordinary private museum of historic teawares. In 2011 Nirmal Sethia, the Chairman of the luxury tea company, Newby Teas, set himself the task of acquiring the world’s greatest collection of teawares to record and preserve tea cultures of the past. Today, the collection, named in honour of his late wife, Chitra, totals almost 2000 objects and is already the world’s finest and most comprehensive collection of its kind.
Porcelain and enamels, J.J. Kändler (modeller), Meissen, Germany, ca.1735
Porcelain and enamels, J.J. Kändler (modeller), Meissen, Germany, ca.1735
Silver-gilt and cloisonné enamel, Pavel Ovchinnikov, Russia, 1896-1908
Silver-gilt and cloisonné enamel, Pavel Ovchinnikov, Russia, 1896-1908
Bloodstone and gold openwork, Germany, ca.1750
Bloodstone and gold openwork, Germany, ca.1750
Silver and ivory, Paul Storr, England, 1814
Silver and ivory, Paul Storr, England, 1814
Did you know that the blue pigment found on all Chinese blue-and-white porcelain is obtained from ground cobalt oxide? The pigment was mixed with water and applied with a brush to the porcelain, which was then covered with a clear glaze before a final firing in the kiln. Referred to as 'nameless rarity' in Chinese, the mineral was imported from Iran in small quantities due to its high cost. Blue-and-white porcelain, such as this teapot, dominated the Chinese export trade until the end of the 17th century, and was immensely popular in Vietnam, the Middle East and later in Europe, where it was collected in vast quantities and highly valued by the wealthy.
What a lovely example you have chosen to share!
Very nice! Here is my ‘clobbered’ teapot featuring oriental figures. The teapot is Kangxi period (c.1700) and the decoration applied in either London or Amsterdam. Do you have any clobbered teapots?
