I adore this teapot – a gift from my husband. It is part of the Astier de Villatte collection. We are huge fans of their beautiful quirky shop in the rue St Honoré in Paris.
I think it would be sacrilege to fill it with hot water and tea. I fear it would snap, because it looks so delicate and fragile. Though I’m assured it’s sturdier than I imagine. My husband, who is a private chef, has a client who uses an entire Astier de Villatte dinner service for all her dinner parties. So far her collection remains in tact.
My teapot, though, is treated as an ornament. A decorative piece to be revered.
A smaller Astier item – a tiny dish – did snap in half when it was accidentally knocked it off a table.
On sale in Designer’s Guild and Petersham Nurseries in London, Astier de Villatte’s 18th and 19th century inspired ceramics are handmade, buy a team of 20 ceramicists, in a workshop in the Bastille area of Paris. They’re sculpted out of black terracotta and the imperfections in this clay are then celebrated with a signature white glaze.
If the court at Versailles had used teapots, mine is the one they would have used. Completely beautiful.
