Teapot 1880

This teapot was made by Tiffany & Co., though its precise date is unknown. Tiffany’s production coincided with a period in American history when the country was redefining itself on the world stage and experiencing rapid industrial expansion. The imagery on this teapot—the fish and aquatic plants—connects to the broader aesthetic of the American Gilded Age, when wealthy elites were looking to Japan for inspiration, captivated by the stylized motifs and natural forms of Japanese art. Objects like this teapot blur the line between art and commodity, and also speak to the cultural politics of consumption. What does it mean to take an image from another culture and put it on a luxury item? How might this object affirm existing social hierarchies, or perhaps even challenge them? To answer these questions, we have to look at the history of museums, world fairs, and the popular press, all of which influenced the tastes of the time and created new markets for global goods.