Teapot

Albion Smith, Teapot, 1996, pierced, soldered, engraved, formed, and fabricated sterling silver, blue chalcedony, pink tourmaline, and rosewood, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Sandra and Gilbert Oken in honor of Kenneth R. Trapp, 1996.51A-B

Luce Center Label

Albion Smith enjoys making all the parts of an object, including clasps, hinges, and miniature fastenings. He creates a variety of detailed teapots and hopes they will be treasured as objects of art and used as functional vessels. In this piece, the winding patterns were engraved onto a flat sheet of layered silver, then scored, bent, and soldered into the hexagonal form. The different parts of the teapot blend seamlessly, with the designs radiating out from the richly colored gem at the center of each panel.

Luce Object Quote

"I see . . . in my mind's vision, this flawless object, then strive to match that vision as closely as possible. The teapot's the closest I've come." Albion Smith, "Treasures of Another World"

Title

Teapot

Artist

Albion Smith

Date

1996

Location

Dimensions