Teapot (part of a service)

Meissen Manufactory

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This teapot, which reflects one of the earliest teapot forms produced at Meissen, belongs to a service that includes the similarly decorated coffeepot (1974.356.424) and sugar box (1974.356.426). The service is notable for the rich gold background that is carefully worked to depict foliage and birds. Like the other components of the service, the teapot is decorated with Asian figures in exotic dress engaged in a variety of activities, including the preparation of tea.

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

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.

Metropolitan Museum of Art