This is the very first upright ring teapot I made in the summer of 1995. The idea came out more or less fully realized in relation to my original concept of adding a handle, lid, and spout to the ring vase. I was already making casually-modeled animal figures attached to the lids and hidden inside closed-form “surprise boxes,” and I had recently read a National Geographic article about endangered South American jaguars. I sculpted a mother jaguar for inside the ring, and perched a baby jaguar figure cleaning its fur with its tongue like a domestic house cat on the lid. I glazed the teapot with our bronze green matte glaze to suggest the jaguar’s green jungle environment. I was very encouraged by the artistic presence of this teapot, although I had no idea where this idea would lead me.

This teapot is held in a private collection in Maynard, MA.