BY OWEN FINDSEN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
If you could have one object from Burghley House, which one would you pick?
We asked Anita Ellis, director of curatorial affairs at the Cincinnati Art Museum. Ms. Ellis organized the exhibition for the CAM and has had the opportunity to study the objects closely. Not that anything at Burghley House is liable to leave, but it is interesting to know what objects curators would pick for their museum's collection.
"Each curator would pick something different. A curator of costumes and textiles would select something made of fabric. A painting curator might select one of the excellent portrait miniatures," Ms. Ellis says.
"For me it would the be the hexagonal teapot," said Ms. Ellis, who is a decorative arts curator.
Gold in color and made of silver gilt, the William III teapot was made in London in 1695 by Pierre Harache, one of the first and best Huguenot silversmiths who sought refuge from religious persecution in England.
"It would be one of the earliest pieces in our collection. It is English and it is a teapot, which is very English. The fact that the cast and chased panels show American Indians makes it even more interesting."
The Indians are shown in hunting scenes, some on horseback, others on foot with bow and arrow.
The shape of the teapot is based on imported Chinese porcelain which was widely popular at the time, a fashion known as Chinoiserie. And it indicates the interest in the New World, which was being settled by English colonists, including many Huguenots, when it was made.
"It would be a great teaching example. You could tell so many stories about it."
