Böttger's Teapot: Cocktails, Mocktails and the history of European porcelain from the Frick Museum

Favorite European teapots owe a debt of gratitude to Johann Friedrich Bottger

Do you have a favorite porcelain teapot? Perhaps  the quintessential afternoon tea classic "Old Country Roses" by Royal Albert or maybe a more contemporary (although now retired) Royal Doultan "Provence" from the early 2000's? Whatever one's preference of European porcelain manufacturers is,  we owe a debt of gratitude to Johann Friedrich Böttger, a 17th century failed alchemist, but gifted artist, who is  credited with replicating China's alluring pottery for Europe's mass market.

Bottger was the subject of a Cocktails with the Curator  presentation from Manhattan's Frick Museum. Alerted by BTS team member and great friend, Pam B, of this wonderful, no cost, series which features lectures of various items in the museum's vast collection by Deputy Director and Curator, Xavier Salomon, we fired up our laptop and tuned into Bottger's Teapot, learning about the creation of European porcelain. 

Like Augustus the Strong, I, too, like to collect fine porcelain

Before delving into teapots,  first a note about the Cocktails with the Curator series.  Every Friday at 5:00 pm a new topic is presented by the Frick Curator, typically on one of the museum's paintings or sculptures.  All are under thirty minutes and feature a cocktail (or mocktail for teetotalers, the under 21 crowd or those watching a recording on a "school night") to accompany the subject.  It's a great way to continue museum visits in quarantine times as well as learn an incredible amount of art history.

Bottger's teapot first "aired" in September of last year. Salomon kicked off his lecture with the Saxon cocktail (a rum and grenadine concoction) as an homage to the home of Bottger's porcelain creations.

Teapot daughter Rachel brought home from China - where it all started

Harking back to the origins of porcelain in China and Japan, Salomon notes Europeans were first exposed to it via Venetian Marco Polo in the 13th century. His excursions to the Eastern world brought back a variety of exotic goods, including earthenware vases and vessels which the great explorer coined "porcellana", a nickname in Italian for cowry shell, whose shiny surface resembles porcelain.

More of my  "porcellana" collection featuring blue and white china teapots.

Imported porcelain became highly desirable with royals and aristocrats and in particular, in the late 17th century, Polish king and ruler of Saxony, August the Strong.  So devoted was he to the acquisition of porcelain, that he traded an army of six hundred men to the King of Prussia in exchange for one hundred fifty-one Chinese ceramic pieces. (Ironically, some of the traded soldiers were among those who later fought against Augustus  - gives new meaning to one's investments making a killing).

Now, enter Bottger, whose boastful, but unfulfilled claims of turning base metals into gold, had placed him in some hot water with his royal benefactor, King Frederick of Prussia. Unable to produce gold, he fled to Dresden where Augustus the Strong kept him captive in a workshop/prison to continue the pursuit of developing the precious metal. Augustus also paired him with another artist, Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus.  Tschirnhaus was in pursuit of reproducing Chinese porcelain and, after many failed attemps to make gold, Bottger wisely saw porcelain as his salvation.

Bottger spawned other European pottery companies, including my favorite, Wedgwood

After many iterations of mixing different materials in a variety of conditions, Bottger finally approached his goal.  In 1708, he produced a red stoneware - close to porcelain, but not quite.  The following year, he successfully made white porcelain and created a range of simple to ornate vases, dishes and, per the subject of the Curator's presentation, teapots.

The production of such porcelain coincided with the introduction of more new imports to Europe: coffee, chocolate and tea. Due to their expense, they, too were the exclusive property of the wealthy, who now needed fancy serving ware for these delicious and highly desirable goods. A perfect match of fine china and tea that still continues to this day.

Like Augustus the Strong, I love to collect fine china. I raise my cup of Earl Gray and weekend cocktail to Bottger for his grand contribution to porcelain production, his teapot and to the Frick Museum for sharing all this fantastic art history.