Teapot

This teapot, one of the most popular models produced at Saint-Cloud, is an important example of Saint-Cloud porcelain decorated in the Japanese Kakiemon taste, and its early date is indicated by the evident technical challenges, which include slight warping of the soft-paste body and the fusion of some of the enamel colors with the clear lead glaze. Another Saint-Cloud teapot of the same model in the Museum's collection (2004.354a, b) bears decoration that was left unfinished due to a firing problem that affected the join of the spout to the body. The preliminary stages of decoration executed in blue, green, yellow, and manganese on this example indicate that the completed decoration would have been extremely close to that found on the present example. The teapot donated in 2004 serves as an effective teaching tool to demonstrate the stages of decoration involved for soft-paste porcelain; this teapot allows us to illustrate the intended finished product. The addition of both red and black enamel that would have occurred in the final firing of the incomplete teapot makes the compositions legible.