Teapot And Lid

Czechoslovakian-born artist and multimedia designer Ladislav Sutnar designed porcelain tea, coffee, and dinner services, which this teapot is a part of, in 1929. At the time, he was the director of the furnishings company Krásná jizba, part of the artists’ cooperative and publishing firm Družstevní práce (Cooperative work) in Prague. Krásná jizba struggled to secure a manufacturer for Sutnar’s functionalist designs until finding the Epiag Porcelain Works in West Bohemia. Despite this setback, in 1932 the firm began taking orders for the new modernist tableware and it soon became the most popular product sold. In these sets, Sutnar applied his graphic design sensibilities of visual organization and simplification to three-dimensional, utilitarian objects. All forms are based on the sphere and color is minimal. The sets were available in a few color options, including white with red or black trim and red with white trim. Here, the white trim emphasizes the teapot’s geometric shape and the red surface lends a sense of playfulness to the otherwise-austere form. The lack of decoration also highlights the material’s innate qualities of purity, delicacy, and fineness. One contemporary art historian extolled Sutnar's porcelain services for surpassing those of Vienna, previously a leader in the field.

Teapot And Lid; glazed, molded porcelain; H x W x D: 15.2 x 22.9 x 15.2 cm (6 x 9 x 6 in.); Museum purchase through gift of Estate of Ladislav Sutnar; 2011-10-1-a,b