Teapot
1671–1708
Medium
Red earthenware, silver
Dimensions
Height: 4 in. (10.2 cm)
Classification
Ceramics-Pottery
Culture
Dutch, Delft
Department
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of R. Thornton Wilson, in memory of Florence Ellsworth Wilson, 1950
Accession Number
50.211.37a, b
Tags
Art Historical Context
This charming teapot, crafted by potter Arij de Milde between1671 and 1708, exemplifies the ingenuity of Delft ceramics during the Dutch Golden Age. Hailing from the vibrant pottery center of Delft, de Milde specialized in red earthenware, a warm-toned clay body that offered a rustic yet refined alternative to the more ubiquitous blue-and-white Delftware inspired by Chinese porcelain. At just 4 inches tall, this petite vessel was likely designed for intimate tea rituals, reflecting the growing popularity of tea drinking in 17th-century Europe as a fashionable social pastime among the bourgeois...