Teapot

Teapot

Vezzi Factory

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The third factory in Europe to produce hard-paste porcelain was founded in Venice in 1720 by Francesco Vezzi (1651–1740). The previous year, Vezzi had visited Vienna, where it is likely he became aware of Claudius Du Paquier's new porcelain factory. Presumably, it was during this visit that Vezzi met Christoph Conrad Hunger, who in 1720 left du Paquier's employ and moved to Venice. In the following year, Hunger was recorded as a partner of the Vezzi enterprise, and it must have been Hunger who provided the technical expertise to the factory. The Vezzi factory produced porcelain for only a seven-year period, and it is thought that less than 200 pieces of Vezzi porcelain have survived. A significant percentage of the surviving objects are teapots, and many of these are executed in a bold, sculptural style particular to Vezzi's factory. Vezzi porcelain is frequently decorated with chinoiserie scenes, and the playful character of the Chinese figures on this teapot is typical of the factory's style.


European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

TeapotTeapotTeapotTeapotTeapot

The fifty thousand objects in the Museum's comprehensive and historically important collection of European sculpture and decorative arts reflect the development of a number of art forms in Western European countries from the early fifteenth through the early twentieth century. The holdings include sculpture in many sizes and media, woodwork and furniture, ceramics and glass, metalwork and jewelry, horological and mathematical instruments, and tapestries and textiles. Ceramics made in Asia for export to European markets and sculpture and decorative arts produced in Latin America during this period are also included among these works.