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Combination Teapot

Artist
Theodor Bogler, German, 1897–1968
Maker
Bauhaus Ceramic Workshop, Dornburg, Germany, active 1920–1925
Date
1923
Material
Glazed earthenware
made in
Dornburg, Hessen state, Germany, Europe
Classification
Ceramics
Collection
Decorative Arts and Design
Current Location
Not on view
Dimensions
2 7/8 x 6 1/16 x 6 3/16 in. (7.3 x 15.4 x 15.7 cm)
Credit Line
The Lopata Endowment Fund
Rights
© Abbey Maria Laach, Germany
Object Number
174:2003a,b
NOTES
The most radical feature of this streamlined teapot is how it was made. Bauhaus ceramics professor Theodor Bogler crafted a set of modular teapot parts—handles, spouts, bodies, and lids—that could be assembled in any combination, hence its title of Combination Teapot. Unfortunately, attaching the individually cast spouts and handles required considerable time and handwork. Because of this, the teapot was considered a “heroic failure” and was never licensed for commercial production
Private Collection, Germany

- 2003
Galerie Ulrich Fiedler, Cologne, Germany, purchased at unnamed auction [1]

2003 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, purchased from Galerie Ulrich Fiedler [2]


Notes:
[1] Ulrich Fiedler, of Galerie Ulrich Fiedler, purchased the teapot at an auction in Germany and was told by the auction house that the consignor was a regional private collector who wished to remain anonymous [see e-mail from Ulrich Fiedler to Cara McCarty, Museum curator, dated October 15, 2003, SLAM document files].

[2] Invoice dated October 10, 2003 [SLAM document files]. Minutes of the Collections Committee of the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, December 2, 2003.
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