Teapot for -Apollo Sky-Scraper- set c. 1927

This gleaming "Teapot for -Apollo Sky-Scraper- set" was crafted by Louis W. Rice sometime between the late 19th and early 20th century. It's hard to tell what the artist was thinking, but I like to think he approached it like a painting, building up forms and lines, maybe starting with a sketch then slowly adding more. It’s made of metal, probably silver, and the first thing you notice is the pure geometry. It’s like a machine-age sculpture shrunk down to domestic scale, with its stacked rectangular forms and cylindrical handle. The surface reflects light like a mirror, and yet the shape is so assertive, so sure of itself. My eye is drawn to the handle, how it juts out like a periscope from the boxy body of the teapot. You know, it reminds me a little of the Constructivist movement. But also reminds me of the art deco movement that would come later, with it's geometric shapes and clean lines. It's a striking, odd piece, and shows art's ongoing conversation.