500 Teapots: Contemporary Explorations of a Timeless Design

edited by Suzanne J.E. Tourtillott

Paperback: 416 pages
Publisher: Lark Books (2002)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1-57990-341-X
ISBN-13: 978-1-57990-341-1
Dimensions: 8.0" x 8.0" x 1.1"
Shipping Weight: 2.58 lbs.

A captivating compilation of 500 of the most creative and technically astounding teapots you've ever seen. Collectors and ceramists alike will enjoy the huge variety of shape, surface treatment, and technique, including handbuilt and wheel thrown, stoneware and porcelain, round and square, wax resist and slip work, and functional and strictly sculptural. Whether they explore pure function or challenge our expectations of spout, handle and lid, these teapots are both visually fascinating and thought-provoking.

The teapot is to the potter what the canvas is to the painter. Since the ancient Chinese first developed vessels for brewing and serving tea, the teapot has inspired clay artists to create their own renditions. 500 Teapots: Contemporary Explorations of a Timeless Design presents a remarkable visual tour of how potters from around the world are interpreting this classic form. These many figurative, sculptural, and, yes, traditional teapots astound us with their myriad shapes and delightful combinations of utility and decorative treatment.

John Neely's classic "Octagonal Brown Teapot with Braided Cane Handle" reconnects contemporary teapot design to its honored Oriental origins, as do cutting-edge sculptural designs like Richard Swanson's "Proud Catch II" and Bonnie Seeman's exquisite, organically inspired creations.

More than most ceramic vessels, the teapot can even suggest aspects of the human form. Karen Marie Portaleo's "Nurse (Fetish Series 1)" amuses yet challenges our assumptions about what a teapot is. And altered, functional pots, made by such artists as Nick Joerling and Susan Filley, allude to the human body, while bringing vibrant energy to the traditional teapot form.

Adrian Arleo's "Leaning Brown Figure with Blue Spots" declares that her teapots can become both stage and player: "My teapots are small-scale narrative dramas...the openendedness of the narrative cause one to wonder and invites interpretation."

In its breadth and richness of subject, this book is an essential reference for collectors and ceramists alike. The feature work explores new relationships between body, spout handle, and lid and occasionally causes us to ask, Is that really a teapot?