Pearlware Teapot
Pearlware Teapot
- Description
- This pearlware teapot with a blue, hand-painted underglaze from about 1825-1840 was designed with a concave sloping neck, a spout, and a loop handle. The surface is decorated with a series of circular arcs around the shoulder and spear-shaped leaves have been placed at each joint. Spear-shaped leaves also decorate the handle and spout. A quartrefoil-shaped flower flanked by three leaves adorns both sides of the body. The cover has a similar design and a globular knob. After the American Revolution, drinking tea became a politicized activity, as some saw it as unpatriotic. Nevertheless, a home tea service remained a symbol of gentility and class, with upper classes using pure silver sets, and the middle and lower classes using silver luster or ceramic sets to have their afternoon tea and entertain guests.
- Object Name
- teapot and cover
- date made
- 1825-1840
- place made
- United Kingdom: England
- Physical Description
- ceramic (overall material)
- Measurements
- overall: 13.5 cm x 24 cm x 14 cm; 5 5/16 in x 9 7/16 in x 5 1/2 in
- ID Number
- 1980.0614.105ab
- catalog number
- 1980.0614.105ab
- accession number
- 1980.0614
- Credit Line
- Gift of Clare Boyd Shenehon
- See more items in
- Cultural and Community Life: Ceramics and Glass
- Domestic Furnishings
- American Enterprise
- Exhibition
- American Enterprise
- Exhibition Location
- National Museum of American History
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
Nominate this object for photography.
Our collection database is a work in progress. We may update this record based on further research and review. Learn more about our approach to sharing our collection online.
If you would like to know how you can use content on this page, see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use. If you need to request an image for publication or other use, please visit Rights and Reproductions.