Not on display

Teapot

ca. 1680 (Made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Hexagonal body, swelling from the foot and contracting at the neck; cane-bound handle and spout imitating bamboo (hinged cover missing); domed lid surmounted by spray of plum blossom. The body, neck and lid are each formed of six panels of matted punching with figures, birds, trees, flowers and buildings in relief. The strips of silver around the base of the lid may have been added in the early nineteenth century to accommodate two inscriptions.
The teapot assays up to 921 parts per thousand, just below sterling standard.

Object details

Categories
Object type
Parts
This object consists of 2 parts.

  • Teapot
  • Lid
Materials and techniques
Silver, with cane-bound handle
Brief description
Teapot, silver, the handle bound with bamboo strips, China, around 1680, unmarked
Physical description
Hexagonal body, swelling from the foot and contracting at the neck; cane-bound handle and spout imitating bamboo (hinged cover missing); domed lid surmounted by spray of plum blossom. The body, neck and lid are each formed of six panels of matted punching with figures, birds, trees, flowers and buildings in relief. The strips of silver around the base of the lid may have been added in the early nineteenth century to accommodate two inscriptions.
The teapot assays up to 921 parts per thousand, just below sterling standard.
Dimensions
  • Height: 16.8cm
  • Width: 19.9cm
  • Depth: 9.4cm
Marks and inscriptions
There are two inscriptions engraved on the lid in the same cursive script. Engraved around the inside of the lid rim: 'Martha Putland 1753' Engraved around the outside of the lid rim: 'To my sister Jane Roberts in acknowledgement of her affectionate regard 1832' Numbers referring to the weight of the tea pot and lid are engraved in a different hand on the lid and on the base of the pot.
Credit line
Given by Mrs Aylmer Thornton
Object history
The teapot was given to the Museum in 1955, and according to the donor was said to have been purchased in China by a Colonel Putland (see the registered file for the object). It has sometimes been suggested that this was originally a Chinese tea cannister made in around 1680, and that the handle and spout were added in England in about 1750. Physical analysis of the teapot, however, undermines this theory. The analysis from the London assay office carried out in 1984 states that the body and spout are made from silver of the same standard, but the lid is made of a different grade of silver. It seems that the object was made as a teapot in China, and the lid may be a later replacement.
Bibliographic references
  • Jackson, Anna & Jaffer, Amin (eds.) Encounters : the meeting of Asia and Europe 1500-1800, London, V&A, 2004 p.6
  • Beevers, David (ed.) Chinese Whispers: Chinoiserie in Britain 1650-1930, Brighton: The Royal Pavilion and Museums, 2008
  • Important Silver and Objects of Vertu. Christies's New York, sale 2039, 23/10/2008
  • Dauterman, Carl Christian. Dream-Pictures of Cathay: Chinoiserie on Restoration Silver. Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin. Summer 1964, vol. 23. pp.11-25.
  • Glanville, Philippa. English 17th century chinoiserie silver. In: The Jaime Oritz-Patiño collection : English 17th century chinoiserie silver. Sotheby's New York, sale 6300, 1992 May 21.
  • Leighton, Sophie. Catalogue entry for teapot. In: Julius Bryant, ed. Art and Design for All: The Victoria and Albert Museum. Catalogue published to accompany the exhibition at the Kunst und Ausstellungshalle der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, Bonn, 18 Nov. 2011 - 15 April 2012, and the Museum of Applied Arts, Budapest, June - September 2012. [German edition also available, published by Prestel Verlag.] London: V&A Publishing, 2011. ISBN: 9781851776665
  • Important Silver, Objects of Vertu and Russian Works of Art, Christie's New York, Tuesday 20 October 1998.
  • Hawkins, John. 'Chinese Silversmiths Working in Nagasaki between 1660 and 1800'. In: Silver Studies. The Journal of the Silver Society. 33 (2016-17), pp. 139-158.
Collection
Accession number
M.69:1, 2-1955

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Record createdSeptember 10, 2004
Record URL
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