Pablo Bronstein

Tea Urn Representing the Creation of the Primordial Gods

Maker

Pablo Bronstein (British

Title

Tea Urn Representing the Creation of the Primordial Gods

Year

2013

Medium

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

Dimensions

Plate: 21 x 15 cm (8 1/4 x 5 7/8 inches)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

Lettered LL: Tea Urn Representing The Creation Of The Primordial Gods; Inscribed in graphite, lower sheet margin: Pablo Bronstein 2013 ‘Silver with gilding’ AP 1/1

Identification

State

AP 1/1

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Gift of the artist

Object Number

2018.24.4

Type

Exhibition History

Fantasy, Myth, Legend
Imagining the Past in Works on Paper since 1750
Dec 16, 2023 – Jun 02, 2024

Label copy

This etching of an elaborate tea urn is reminiscent of the extravagance of 1700s French Rococo design. Clouds encircle the vessel, supporting a small globe at the top. Here artist Pablo Bronstein satirizes the Western European desire to create grand statements in functional domestic objects. The title’s use of the word primordial also places this depiction outside of historical time. Who are these gods the artist is referring to? Why evoke the beginning of time? Bronstein doesn’t specify, leaving the interpretation up to the viewer. 

–GP

Image use

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Tombstone

Pablo Bronstein (British
b. Argentina, b. 1977)
Tea Urn Representing the Creation of the Primordial Gods, 2013
Hand-colored etching on paper
Plate: 21 x 15 cm (8 1/4 x 5 7/8 inches)
Gift of the artist 2018.24.4

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