From the recent exhibition at the New York Historical Society, "Crafting Freedom". Commeraw's work was already known and well regarded, but it was only a few years ago that records were uncovered revealing that he was a Black New Yorker and had been politically active, including leading a tragically failed colonization effort to Sierra Leone.
That, or rohypnol!
And thanks--it's about 230 years old and still doesn't leak.
Awesome! Yeah I hear you about the spout, I like the more typical short, curved type. But I also appreciate the iconoclasm of this one.
Used to be normal for pubs! Wish it still were, I hate having to bring my tankard to the bar and then bring it back home again :-/
Here's a close-up where you can see some additional detail:
The official title is "All-Under-Heaven Complete Map of the Everlasting Unified Qing Empire". Modesty was not a concern...
It's not obvious at a glance, but this map depicts not just China, but Southeast Asia, Africa, England, the Netherlands, possibly Portugal...it's a map meant not for navigation, but for prestige and administration.
I did a podcast interview about this map with dealer Kevin Brown, if you're curious.
Thought I would kick off this community with a little detail about the object in our icon.
Would love to hear what you think about it. Is it attractive? What do you like/dislike about it? Have you seen a similar piece somewhere?
A beautiful teapot though unusual for the period--some have speculated that the spout was a later replacement, but metal analysis suggests it is probably original. The coat of arms are a slightly later replacement, as faint traces of an earlier engraving can be seen. The extant arms likely belonged to a north Welsh family, possibly Edwards or Trevor.
I learned about Commeraw from one of the curators of the exhibition, Allison Robinson, whom I interviewed for my podcast. His story is absolutely fascinating and just as complex as you would imagine.