Teapot 1767 - 1768

Curator: Let’s discuss this striking teapot by Thomas Whipham, dating back to the 18th century. It’s currently held in the Harvard Art Museums collection. Editor: Immediately, I notice its stark geometric form—a perfect cylinder meeting a sharp, angular spout. It exudes an almost austere elegance. Curator: Tea, of course, became central to trade and colonial power. Objects such as this teapot became signifiers of wealth but also of cultural exchange, both forced and desired, between Europe and Asia. Editor: That contrast between the cool, reflective silver and the warm, organic wood handle—it's a study in textures and temperatures. The maker's careful consideration of materials elevates its simple shape. Curator: Absolutely. The silver speaks to a specific social class and the rituals of tea drinking, and the wood, perhaps, to a connection to the natural world, even if carefully curated. Editor: Seeing it this way, beyond mere function, reveals its potential to spark deeper considerations of class, colonialism, and the role of objects in cultural exchange. Curator: Indeed, and for me, its presence here today invites us to continue these conversations.