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Photo: Gavin Ashworth, NY
Koi Junk Teapot
Photo: Gavin Ashworth, NY

Koi Junk Teapot

Date2009
Maker Michelle Erickson American, born 1960
Label TextThe back of this work has a “Made in China” decal to highlight current and historical relationships in global trade. The teacup’s encrustations make it look like salvage from a shipwreck. Erickson uses agateware ceramic technology invented in 8th-century China, which 18th-century potters in England copied to take advantage of the enormous demand for but short supply of Chinese porcelain.
Object number2011.23
ProvenanceMichelle Erickson Pottery, Inc., Hampton, Virginia; purchased by Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington, 2011
Photo CreditPhoto: Gavin Ashworth, NY
Exhibition HistoryBentonville, Arkansas, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Crafting America, Feb. 6 - Sept. 12, 2021 (Auburn, Alabama, Jule Collins Smith Museum, Auburn University, June 29 - Sept. 12, 2021). Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Our Blue Planet: Global Visions of Water, Mar. 18 - May 30, 2022. Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Chronicles of a Global East, Oct. 20, 2022 - Oct. 22, 2023. Published References"Michele Erickson trailer" on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g70n-TA_6Yk), 2015, 0:48-0:52
Credit LineHoward Kottler Endowment for Ceramic Art
Dimensions12 1/2 x 11 in. (31.8 x 27.9 cm)
MediumPorcelain, colored earthenware agate, indigenous clays
Photo: Paul Macapia
Chinese
late 18th to 19th century
Object number: 96.39.13
Small saucer
Chinese
17th - 18th century
Object number: 60.120.1
Two-handled bowl
Indian
18th century
Object number: 33.91
Photo: Susan Cole
Chinese
late 17th century - early 18th century
Object number: 41.3
Japanese
19th century
Object number: 35.108
Photo: Elizabeth Mann
1960s
Object number: 2018.10