Teapot and milk jug c. 1800 - 1805

Editor: Here we have a "Teapot and milk jug" from around 1800-1805, made by Koninklijke Porseleinfabriek Dommer & Co. in porcelain. It is beautiful! It makes me think of stories and fairytales. How do you interpret this work and the imagery chosen to decorate such a common object? Curator: What strikes me immediately is the pastoral scene rendered on such a refined object. A humble, everyday landscape finding its place upon something used in the rituals of the upper classes. Consider the landscape itself – it’s a carefully constructed image of leisure. What kind of world do you imagine the owner inhabits, based solely on this decoration? Editor: It is idealized! A relaxed and pleasant world... Perhaps that domestic image signals social aspirations for the person who used it, connecting them to nature, perhaps? Curator: Precisely! Images like these speak to cultural memory. A specific notion of countryside life gets fixed to porcelain and passes to us. See how the colours – the greens and browns of the landscape, combined with the gilt trim – add an element of restrained luxury? Porcelain itself became a symbol, remember: the secret of making it guarded jealously in Europe. This is not mere decoration. The act of drinking tea, using porcelain ware became enmeshed with social meaning, rituals and political ideas. What feelings does this kind of idealized scenery evoke in you? Editor: A bit of longing, perhaps? It presents an attractive fantasy. I think I now better grasp how imagery influences how we remember a certain place, and how the decoration becomes so important in reading the history of objects like this one. Curator: Indeed, the convergence of material, imagery and function is powerful. It demonstrates how deeply intertwined art, everyday life and historical perception are.