The Man of the House
Date2018
Label TextThe female figure, the woman of the house, is engaged in the act of “taking tea,” steeped in luxury with an elaborate dress. The ship on top of her head serves as a reminder of the long voyage that brought not only fashionable porcelain but also the commodity of tea to her household. Through two shipwrecked sailors and an enslaved page, Partington exposes the degradation of human life and the reality of trades reliant on precarious ocean voyages and human exploitation. These figures reveal the human cost of the European craze for Chinese products.
Object number2019.6.1
ProvenanceCommissioned from the artist by Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington, 2018
Photo CreditCourtesy of the artist, photo: Dan Weill
Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Claire Partington: Taking Tea, Dec. 7, 2018 - Dec. 6, 2020.
Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Our Blue Planet: Global Visions of Water, Mar. 18 - May 30, 2022.Credit LineGuendolen Carkeek Plestcheeff Endowment for the Decorative Arts
Dimensions34 1/4 x 11 13/16 x 8 11/16 in. (87 x 30 x 22 cm)
MediumWhite earthenware with white tin glaze, enamel, lustre, and mixed media
Associated/Associated
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