Teapot in Wicker Basket
Original OwnerOriginally owned by
Yung Kwai
Chinese, 1861 - 1943
Date1870-1900
Mediumporcelain; wicker; brass; cotton
DimensionsPrimary Dimensions (a-b: overall height x width): 6 × 6 1/4in. (15.2 × 15.9cm)
Other (a: base diameter): 4 1/2in. (11.4cm)
Primary Dimensions (b: height x diameter): 3/4 × 3 1/8in. (1.9 × 7.9cm)
Primary Dimensions (c: overall length x width x depth): 7 × 9 3/4 × 7in. (17.8 × 24.8 × 17.8cm)
Other (a: base diameter): 4 1/2in. (11.4cm)
Primary Dimensions (b: height x diameter): 3/4 × 3 1/8in. (1.9 × 7.9cm)
Primary Dimensions (c: overall length x width x depth): 7 × 9 3/4 × 7in. (17.8 × 24.8 × 17.8cm)
ClassificationsCeramics
Credit LineGift of Leontine M. Thomson
DescriptionA teapot (a) with a lid (b) in a wicker basket (c) originally belonging to Yung Kwai and given by him to the Vaille family as a gift. The Vaille family was Yung Kwai's host family during the Chinese Educational Mission.
(a-b) The teapot is decorated with scenes of flowers, birds, butterflies, and a group of Asian people in a building. It has a wire handle wrapped in red twine.
(c) The interior of the wicker basket is lined with tan and red padding. It has a brass closure on the front and two handles on top.
(a-b) The teapot is decorated with scenes of flowers, birds, butterflies, and a group of Asian people in a building. It has a wire handle wrapped in red twine.
(c) The interior of the wicker basket is lined with tan and red padding. It has a brass closure on the front and two handles on top.
Object number2022.44.1a-c
Inscribed(a) Handwritten in black ink on a label affixed to the teapot base: "Present / from Kwai / xmas 1891. / S. W. Vaille"NotesHistorical Note: The Chinese Educational Mission (1872-1881) in Hartford, Connecticut, was the fulfillment of a dream of Yung Wing. He wanted Chinese youth to study American technology to improve China’s engineering and infrastructure. Yung Wing came to the United States in 1847 to study at Monson Academy in Massachusetts, and at Yale in New Haven, Connecticut. It was upon his return to China that he began planning to persuade the Government to send 120 Chinese students to America. The first group of thirty students ranging in age from ten to fourteen arrived in Hartford in 1872. They lived with host families, attended local schools, and in the summer studied Chinese classics at the Mission’s headquarters at Sumner Street and later 352 Collins Street, Hartford. In 1881, the Chinese government recalled the students because they thought they were becoming too Americanized.Subject Note: Dr. Henry Robert Vaille (1809-1885) and Sarah Wilkinson (Lewis) Vaille (1824-1913) lived in Springfield, Massachusetts and were hosts to some of the boys from China who were part of the Chinese Educational Mission.
On View
Not on view
Yung Wing
Yung Wing
Unknown
Unknown
