Chinese Export Masonic Teapot

Unknown Chinese, Chinese

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early 19th century

Porcelain

Overall: 6 × 10 × 5 1/8 in. (15.3 × 25.4 × 13 cm)

Lid: 3 7/16 in. (8.8 cm)

Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth: Gift of Frank P. Stetz in memory of David Stewart Hull, Class of 1960

C.2004.83.1

Geography

Place Made: China, East Asia, Asia

Period

19th century

Object Name

Tools and Equipment: Food Service

Research Area

Decorative Arts

On view

Label

Water’s almost magical ability to reactivate dried tea leaves transforms brittle plants into a flavorful beverage. For eighteenth-century Europeans and Euro-Americans, this commodity imported from China became a status symbol. Entire tea sets manufactured from silver or ceramics established the English ritual of drinking tea, making tea China’s highest-valued export to Europe during the period.

Made in China and decorated with Masonic symbols, this teapot traveled across the ocean just like the tea leaves it once contained. The once-known Chinese maker used their knowledge of European imagery to market this teapot to an international audience by including masonic symbols. The twin pillars at center reference King Solomon’s temple, while the beehives closer to the handle represent the sacrifice of the self for the greater good of the community. These float above a more well-known masonic symbol: the square and compass.

From the 2023 exhibition Liquidity: Art, Commodities, and Water, curated by Michael Hartman, Jonathan Little Cohen Associate Curator of American Art


Course History

HIST 9.01, America: From Invasion to Independence, Paul Musselwhite, Fall 2019

HIST 5.14, Americas: Invasion to Independence, Paul Musselwhite and Ernesto Mercadeo-Montero, Fall 2022

Art History 20.04, Faith and Empire, Beth Mattison, Spring 2023

First Year Student Enrichment Program - Cultures, Identities and Belongings, Francine A'Ness, Summer 2023

Exhibition History

Liquidity: Art, Commodities, and Water, Israel Sack Gallery and the Rush Family Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, July 29, 2023-June 16, 2024.

Provenance

Frank Stetz, New York, New York; given to present collection, 2004.

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