A piece of functional art and sculpture that just makes my heart sing, looking poised and ready to break into a song and dance of its own - this is one very rare and very special teapot made by English potter Mark Smith from a bygone time where he was focussed on producing exceptional salt glazed pottery.
Full of whimsy, this leaning teapot body has been thrown and turned with outrageous flair, featuring an exaggerated reaching spout and a handle that has used the very same shape, cleverly pinched and bent into a hand-on-hip position. These salt glazed inky blue elements are all densely textured with ribs and dots, including the bird shaped knob/finial that perches atop the lid.
Quite unlike anything I have ever come across in his work today, Mark Smith stopped producing such pieces around the year 2000. in 1994 he established his career in Green Gate Pottery, Derbyshire.
