A geisha posing with a parasol over her shoulder provides what is perhaps the only e...
A geisha posing with a parasol over her shoulder provides what is perhaps the only element of quiet in Burgess & Leigh's highly elaborate transferware teapot.
An unusual bombe shape was not enough. In addition B & L cuts the corners, adds scroll feet, invents an unusual shaped collar to set off a cut-corner-pyramidal lid, gives the handle complex curves with leaf details, and tops the composition with a finial whose corners curve upwards just enough to suggest a pagoda roof.
We see very little undecorated surface here. Our geisha stands in a grove crowded with bamboo, palms and banana leaves. The lid above features a tiny but detailed view of an Asian temple. Monochromatic panels of arabesques in shades of brownish orange fill the flattened corners. Secondary motifs in gilt adorn areas that might otherwise have seemed empty.
Ready for a calming cup of oolong?