A Red Clay Pot, Pretending to be Silver
This little teapot is unremarkable, sitting in a case with other objects reminding visitors of the cultural importance of tea in Alexandria at the beginning of the 19th century. 1
Upon closer inspection, however, it is clear that the teapot is clay pottery glazed to appear silver, designed and executed to look like a metal teapot. The size and shape of the pot are not especially notable. But the glaze is a luster glaze which gives the appearance of silver. The pot is carefully crafted toUpon closer inspection, however, it is clear that the teapot is clay pottery glazed to appear silver. appear as if it were metal. It first attracts the visitor’s attention because the color and sheen of the silver seems subdued.
There is a range of shapes suggestive of a metalwork origin found in Islamic ceramics of the 12th and 13th centuries. 2 A closer look shows the pot’s true character, but the fact that it continues to imitate silver after all this time is a tribute to the innovation of the craftsmen who made it.
Questions for further study:
Why was it made in the manner of a metal teapot? Who was it made for? How common were these pots? Was it made locally? SDuring what time period were pots like this used? Were they used in private homes or in taverns?
The study of this pot will lead us beyond its physical characteristics, to the larger question of the rise of a middle class which can afford tea, but can not afford silver. It was found in an acheological dig on lower King Street, in Alexandria Virginia, and has been dated to around 1830. What else was going on in Alexandria at that time? The city was prosperous and growing, with many merchants and tradespeople living there.
1 The teapot may be seen in The Lyceum, 201 S. Washington Street, in Alexandria, Va.
2Michael Vickers, From Silver to Ceramic, Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, 1986, p 5.