Thrown and turned tea pot

1987

A white, earthenware teapot made in three sections, body, stand and lid.

The knob is thrown onto the lid just after turning. The handle is pulled which gives it a taper along its length. The spout is formed around a tapered wooden former in the manner of Chinese spouts.

18c potters seemed equally happy to take their shapes from the European classical tradition and the Chinese, seeming unsurprisingly, to find a similarity in the aspiration to perfect form.

The aesthetic in both traditions is hard and cold. English potters seemed to be able to make these warm and personal. These potters, until Wedgwood, were tradesmen who perhaps had aspirations to nobility which were impossible to achieve. They produced masterpieces full of humanity and gentility.

This tea pot reflects those aspirations. It is a supremely skilled piece of throwing, a soft and gentle-flowing glaze abandoned on its surface.

15cm. - 18cm. high