•D2534. Red Stoneware Silver-Mounted Teapot and Cover

Delft, circa 1700

Marked with impressed ARY DE MILDE above a running fox within a beaded oval, the owner of De Gecroonde Theepot (The Crowned Teapot) from 1690 to 1708

The spherical body applied on either side with a relief-molded floral sprig, and the domed cover with three curling ornaments encircling the knop mounted in silver with a boy holding an axe and connected by a chain to a hinged foliate mount on the handle and spout.

DIMENSIONS
Height: 14 cm. (5.5 in.)

NOTE
Although the trade of Chinese porcelain by the VOC (Dutch East India Company) became increasingly difficult around 1650 due to civil unrest in China, the VOC managed to maintain trade relations with southern China. Among the imported wares were porcelain, tea, and the highly sought-after red stoneware teapots.These Chinese objects became an inspiration for the production of red stoneware teapots in Delft.

Red clays are abundant worldwide, but the Yixing region, north of Shanghai, had distinguished itself since the Song dynasty (960–1279) for using a red clay with a high kaolin content to produce exceptional teapots. The material’s ability to retain heat and preserve the fragrance of tea made Yixing teapots highly desirable. These small infusion pots (trekpotjes) were used to brew strong tea, which was then diluted with water from a larger kettle. By 1640, Dutch colonists encountered tea and Yixing teapots in Batavia (now Jakarta), and the VOC soon began including both in their cargoes to the Netherlands. By 1685, the VOC had established a monopoly on the tea trade, with Yixing teapots becoming a complementary import.

The popularity of tea as a fashionable beverage in Europe and the successful properties of Yixing teapots encouraged Delft potters to imitate this red stoneware. However, several technical challenges arose. First, they needed a clay composition suitable for unglazed pottery that was dense, refined, and fired at high temperatures to become watertight without glazing. The color and hardness had to replicate the Chinese originals, and the clays had to be adapted to Dutch production techniques. Unlike the hand-molded slabs used by Chinese potters to create a variety of shapes, Dutch potters relied on wheel-throwing, which typically produced circular, ovoid, or cylindrical forms. This limited the Delft imitations to simpler Chinese teapot models.

At least three Delft potters are known to have experimented with red stoneware teapots: Lambertus Cleffius of De Metaale Pot (The Metal Pot) factory, Samuel van Eenhoorn of De Grieksche A (The Greek A) factory, and Ary de Milde, an assistant to Samuel’s father. In 1678, Cleffius advertised in the Haarlemse Courant crediting himself with the invention of red teapots that could rival the Chinese originals in color, beauty, strength, and functionality. However, Van Eenhoorn and De Milde made similar claims and applied for patents from the Staten van Holland in 1679. To avoid disputes, the issuing board in The Hague allowed all three potters to use their own marks to distinguish their wares.

Among these innovators, De Milde and Jacobus de Caluwe are most prominently associated with Delft red stoneware, largely due to the frequent marking of their products. De Milde, nicknamed the “Master teapot maker,” operated De Gecroonde Theepot (The Crowned Teapot) factory and produced red teapots from circa 1680 until his death in 1708. His daughter continued the business under his name until 1724. Characteristic De Milde teapots often feature applied blossom sprigs on an even spherical ground, as can be seen on the present teapot.

SIMILAR EXAMPLES
A similar silver-mounted teapot, also marked for De Milde, is in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago (inv. no. 2023.3040); another similar teapot by De Milde, but with the relief decoration mirrored is in the collection of Musée National de Céramique Sèvres (inv. no. 2244).