Object Timeline
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1981 |
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2016 |
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2024 |
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Nefertiti Teapot Teapot
This is a teapot. It was designed by Matteo Thun and produced by Memphis and manufactured by Flavia S.r.L.,. It is dated ca. 1981. Its medium is earthenware. It is a part of the Product Design and Decorative Arts department.
The form, colors, and pattern of this teapot designed by architect Matteo Thun in 1981, the year of Memphis’s founding, exemplify the group’s aim to offer creative perspectives on everyday objects. Here the typical format of the teapot as a triangle has been extruded and exaggerated; the handle juts upward at a cartoon-like pitch and the spout projects as a tubular extremity. The body of the pot is covered in a dense pattern resembling 1950’s laminate, a characteristic motif of Memphis objects. While the appearance of this object is decidedly contemporary, the teapot’s pattern name, Nefertiti, links it to the ancient past conjuring up associations between the teapot’s triangles and the form of the pyramid, also present in the other pieces in the tea set, a sugar bowl and cup and saucer. This combination of the new, the old, and the unexpected in this teapot represented the entirely fresh interpretation of design that Memphis pioneered.
This object was
donated by
George R. Kravis II.
It is credited Gift of George R. Kravis II.
- Teapot (China)
- stoneware.
- Gift of Gerald Gulotta.
- 1990-78-4-a,b
- Poster, Memphis/Milano
- offset lithograph on paper.
- 1987-25-12
- Carlton Room Divider Room Divider
- wood, plastic laminate, metal.
- Museum purchase from General Acquisition Endowment.
- 1986-4-1
Our curators have highlighted 8 objects that are related to this one. Here are three of them, selected at random:
- Drawing, Two Designs for Tables
- pen and black ink, color crayon on cream paper.
- Gift of Friedman Benda.
- 2013-24-8
- Model 2404 Vase
- mold-blown glass.
- Gift of George R. Kravis II.
- 2015-41-4
- Teapot (China)
- stoneware.
- Gift of Gerald Gulotta.
- 1990-78-5-a,b
Its dimensions are
H x W x D: 19.2 × 20.5 × 18 cm (7 9/16 × 8 1/16 × 7 1/16 in.)
Cite this object as
Nefertiti Teapot Teapot; Designed by Matteo Thun (Italian, b. 1952); Produced by Memphis (Italy); Manufactured by Flavia S.r.L.,; earthenware; H x W x D: 19.2 × 20.5 × 18 cm (7 9/16 × 8 1/16 × 7 1/16 in.); Gift of George R. Kravis II; 2018-22-62-a.b
This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibition Energizing the Everyday: Gifts From the George R. Kravis II Collection.
