Chinese Export Masonic Teapot

Label

Water’s almost magical ability to reactivate dried tea leaves transforms brittle plants into a flavorful beverage. For eighteenth-century Europeans and Euro-Americans, this commodity imported from China became a status symbol. Entire tea sets manufactured from silver or ceramics established the English ritual of drinking tea, making tea China’s highest-valued export to Europe during the period.

Made in China and decorated with Masonic symbols, this teapot traveled across the ocean just like the tea leaves it once contained. The once-known Chinese maker used their knowledge of European imagery to market this teapot to an international audience by including masonic symbols. The twin pillars at center reference King Solomon’s temple, while the beehives closer to the handle represent the sacrifice of the self for the greater good of the community. These float above a more well-known masonic symbol: the square and compass.

From the 2023 exhibition Liquidity: Art, Commodities, and Water, curated by Michael Hartman, Jonathan Little Cohen Associate Curator of American Art

Course History

HIST 9.01, America: From Invasion to Independence, Paul Musselwhite, Fall 2019

HIST 5.14, Americas: Invasion to Independence, Paul Musselwhite and Ernesto Mercadeo-Montero, Fall 2022

Art History 20.04, Faith and Empire, Beth Mattison, Spring 2023

First Year Student Enrichment Program - Cultures, Identities and Belongings, Francine A'Ness, Summer 2023

Anthropology 55.01, Anthropology of Global Health, Anne Sosin, Fall 2023

Anthropology 55.01, Anthropology of Global Health, Anne Sosin, Fall 2023

Art History 40.01, American Art and Identity, Mary Coffey, Fall 2023

Creative Writing 10.02, Writing and Reading Fiction, Katherine Crouch, Fall 2023

Geography 11.01, Qualitative Methods, Emma Colven, Fall 2023

Geography 2.01, Introduction to Human Geography, Coleen Fox, Fall 2023

Geography 31.01, Postcolonial Geographies, Erin Collins, Fall 2023

English 30.01, African and African American Studies 34.01, Early Black American LIterature, Michael Chaney, Winter 2024

Writing 5.06, Image and Text, Becky Clark, Winter 2024

Writing 5.07, Image and Text, Becky Clark, Winter 2024

Exhibition History

Liquidity: Art, Commodities, and Water, Israel Sack Gallery and the Rush Family Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, July 29, 2023-November 24, 2024.

Provenance

Frank Stetz, New York, New York; given to present collection, 2004.

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Subjects