Teapot 1930

Editor: This is a teapot made in 1930 by Marguerite Wildenhain. It’s stoneware, a really pure, clean white. It almost looks industrial, but also very hand-crafted, if that makes sense? How would you interpret it? Curator: Its deceptive simplicity conceals a complex history of production. Consider the social context: Wildenhain trained at the Bauhaus. Think about what the Bauhaus represented – a fusion of art, craft, and technology aimed at mass production. Does this teapot reflect those ideals, and how does the artist both embrace and perhaps resist the movement? Editor: I see that. It's machine-made in its perfection, yet it’s ceramic. I mean, someone shaped this on a wheel. Curator: Precisely! Consider the labor involved, the hand skills needed to achieve such precision with such earthy materials. Think about how that contrasts with factory-made objects. Also, what does this clean white stoneware say about consumer culture at the time? Was this luxury or everyday use, given the cost of firing such porcelain? Editor: So it’s making a statement about industry versus craft, even back then. And maybe even wealth, based on material? I hadn't considered it from a social point of view, more from a formalist perspective. Curator: Yes. Examining objects like this teapot through a materialist lens allows us to unpack larger issues surrounding production, labor, and consumption in society. Editor: I will definitely see more to it now. It’s so much more than just a pretty teapot! Curator: It reveals what society valued at that moment.