Teapot 1782 - 1792

Editor: Here we have a silver teapot, made by Nathaniel Smith and Company between 1782 and 1792. It’s currently held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It strikes me as an interesting mix of industrial form, with those flat planes, and almost delicate craftsmanship. What draws your eye when you look at it? Curator: Immediately, I think about the conditions of its production. Consider the silversmiths – highly skilled labor working with expensive materials, crafting an object ultimately intended for elite consumption. How does its physical creation embody the social stratification of the late 18th century? Editor: So you’re thinking about the human effort involved in something that looks so…untouchable? Curator: Precisely. And the global networks involved! Where did the silver come from? What about the wood for the handle? What were the ecological and human costs of extracting those materials? It's crucial to investigate the social life of this object, from mine to table. Editor: It's funny, I hadn't really considered the global implications of a simple teapot! I guess I saw it more as an aesthetic object. Curator: Well, consider this: what is decorative art, if not applied labor? Its artistry is inextricably linked to the material conditions that make it possible. Thinking about the maker and material challenges any perceived separation between fine and decorative art. How might its value change for you, given this understanding? Editor: I guess I appreciate it even more, now that I realize how many different hands contributed to its making, and what costs, hidden and otherwise, were extracted to enable its material form. Curator: Exactly! It goes beyond just the visual appearance of this beautiful teapot to recognizing the economic systems supporting the world of decorative arts in that historical context.