So I inherited this Gay Nineties (Lady) anthropomorphic teapot from my grandmother.
My first reaction? A definite Eww!!
But my husband recognized the pattern, having seen it in antique stores.
Indeed, this seems to be a collectible that people do collect. Since my vintage teapot was never used (the built-in strainer is pristine), it was strictly for display.
This handpainted teapot was made in Japan sometime between 1949 and 1961, by the Miyao Company (now Miyawo) under the PY trademark, and probably sold through an American distributor.
The Reference
The Gay Nineties—an American expression—refers to the 1890s. The expression began in the 1920s and was widely used during the Great Depression in the 1930s as people looked back to a supposedly happier time.
Yet although this nostalgic term evokes an era of gaiety—and assuredly many of the upper and middle classes did prosper—the decade of the 1890s was anything but. An economic crisis began early in the decade, worsened by the Panic of 1893, which brought unemployment, business failures, bank closures, a stock market plunge, and a depression.
The Face
So why would a teapot be anthropomorphized?
Well, the hairstyle and hat do evoke an earlier era, making the teapot a fun, nostalgic tchotchke. It definitely makes serving tea to a guest memorable!
But according to Rick Nauert (2015),
thinking of a nonhuman entity in human ways renders it worthy of moral care and consideration.
Maybe this is just as much advertising as nostalgia. Maybe the human face compels people to purchase it. And once it is in your house, those eyes make it difficult to throw the thing out.
Because it is still in my house. And it is growing on me.
Source: Nauert, R. “Why do we anthropomorphize?,” Psych Central. 2015.
