Theeservies bestaande uit een warmwaterkan, theepot, suikerpot, melkkan en presenteerblad c. 1905

Curator: Just look at the shimmer on this Art Nouveau tea service! The surface practically sings with a pearlescent rainbow. Editor: It certainly does. This complete set, dating from around 1905, includes a hot water pot, teapot, sugar bowl, milk jug, and even a serving tray, all crafted by Orivit. Curator: The way the light catches those stylized, almost skeletal flower designs…it gives off a slightly melancholy feeling. Like beauty holding its breath. Does it evoke the same mood for you? Editor: Melancholy, perhaps, because of its reflection of a culture enjoying the fruits of labor from colonies in Africa. Objects like this affirmed social hierarchies that benefited the consumer but caused great exploitation. Curator: Right, I see your point, the beautiful designs do cloak some murky social stuff beneath. Still, you can't deny how evocative this Orivit service is; those attenuated forms rising from each vessel, as though pushing up out of liquid silver. Editor: They're definitely reaching for something, an escape from industrialization? Mass production met elite tastes. I'm curious how it ended up in our collection, too. Where would such a piece been originally displayed? A privileged salon, perhaps? Curator: Imagine pouring a perfect cup on a grey, drizzly day, the fire crackling... but you’re right, a set like this definitely whispers stories of high society and formal afternoons, reflecting a world far removed from those toiling behind the scenes. Editor: Exactly, a silver echo of social imbalance, and a reflection that continues through display practices of museums and even now in how our institutions seek to remedy this by re-evaluating their public programming. Curator: Even within these delicate forms, these objects really carry a heavy social weight, don't they? Editor: Absolutely. Beauty always has its price, and understanding that cost deepens our engagement with it.