Heirloom

Artist Rain Harris (American, born 1969)

Date2006

MediumGlazed and lustered porcelain with rhinestones

DimensionsOverall: 9 × 10 1/2 × 5 inches (22.86 × 26.67 × 12.7 cm)

Credit LineGift of the artist

Object number2013.22.1.A,B

On View

Not on view

Collections

Architecture, Design and Decorative Arts

Terms

DescriptionA is body; B is stopcock
Bi-lobed porcelain teapot with articulated raised concentric swag pattern bisected by a band of rhinestones with a pale yellow glaze that has been lustered; with gilded scrollwork handle and spout; supported by four gilded scroll feet and a gilded scroll stopper.Gallery Label

Gallery Label

Do we love and cherish our heirlooms for their stories or for their beauty? In Heirloom, Rain Harris asks visitors to consider what stories objects hold as they are passed down through generations. She uses materials associated with old-fashioned works, such as gilding and shiny luster glazes, but updates them to seem modern. Harris poses the questions: “Can an ugly object be in ‘good taste?’ Can a beautiful object also be a tasteless object?”

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