Teapot
Obadiah Rich
1848
Medium
Silver and wood
Dimensions
H.: 14.4 cm (5 3/4 in.)
Classification
teapot
Department
Arts of the Americas
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
61570
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Made in the Rococo revival mode by Boston silversmith Obadiah Rich, this teapot includes repoussé ornament and asymmetrical cartouches. On one side, a cartouche is inscribed with the date of the teapot and the initials “RL” and “LL,” presumably for the Boston owners of this vessel. On the other side, a laborer carrying a yoke laden with baskets of produce walks in a lush landscape, likely that of the tropical West Indies.