Koi Junk Teapot

2009

American, born 1960

The 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.

Porcelain, colored earthenware agate, indigenous clays

12 1/2 x 11 in. (31.8 x 27.9 cm)

Howard Kottler Endowment for Ceramic Art

2011.23

Provenance: Michelle Erickson Pottery, Inc., Hampton, Virginia; purchased by Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington, 2011

Photo: Gavin Ashworth, NY

Now on view at the Seattle Art Museum

Resources

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

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