Teapot and Cover thumbnail 1
Teapot and Cover thumbnail 2
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Ceramics, Room 145

Teapot and Cover

ca. 1720-1727 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

The Vezzi factory in Venice was one of the earliest to follow the lead of Meissen in producing true porcelain in Europe. It was founded by the courtier and politician Giovanni Vezzi in 1720 who managed to tempt skilled technicians to come to Venice and enable him to turn his desire to produce porcelain into reality. A few came directly from Meissen, but most came from Vienna, where du Paquier's factory had already benefited from the technical expertise developed at Meissen. Thanks to this early instance of industrial espionage, for a few years the Vezzi factory produced a range of interesting tea, coffee and other decorative wares using clay found in the Veneto region nearby. Not surprisingly, its shapes owe a lot to those developed at Vienna and Meissen, as with this faceted teapot. The factory closed in 1727, so Vezzi pieces are rare and highly sought after.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Parts
This object consists of 2 parts.

  • Teapot
  • Cover
Materials and techniques
Hard paste porcelain, moulded and painted with enamels
Brief description
Teapot and cover of hard paste porcelain, moulded and painted with enamels, Vezzi porcelain factory, Venice, ca. 1720-1727.
Physical description
Teapot and cover of hard paste porcelain moulded and painted with enamels.
Dimensions
  • Height: 12.1cm
  • Width: 9.2cm
Marks and inscriptions
'C f' (Incised on the base)
Gallery label
TEAPOT AND COVER Porcelain Mark: "C f", incised ITALY (VENICE, VEZZI); 1720-7 C.121:l& 2-1930 (Label draft attributed to John V. G. Mallet, ca. 1995)(ca. 1995)
Subjects depicted
Summary
The Vezzi factory in Venice was one of the earliest to follow the lead of Meissen in producing true porcelain in Europe. It was founded by the courtier and politician Giovanni Vezzi in 1720 who managed to tempt skilled technicians to come to Venice and enable him to turn his desire to produce porcelain into reality. A few came directly from Meissen, but most came from Vienna, where du Paquier's factory had already benefited from the technical expertise developed at Meissen. Thanks to this early instance of industrial espionage, for a few years the Vezzi factory produced a range of interesting tea, coffee and other decorative wares using clay found in the Veneto region nearby. Not surprisingly, its shapes owe a lot to those developed at Vienna and Meissen, as with this faceted teapot. The factory closed in 1727, so Vezzi pieces are rare and highly sought after.
Bibliographic reference
Kräftner, Johann,ed. Baroque Luxury Porcelain: The Manufacturers of Du Paquier in Vienna and of Carlo Ginori in Florence , with text by Claudia Lehner-Jobst, Andreina d'Agliano and others, Liechtenstein Museum, Prestel, 2005
Collection
Accession number
C.121&A-1930

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Record createdJanuary 27, 2009
Record URL
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