Antique Copper Teapot

For a French kitchen, a copper kettle like this was the first thing on the stove in the morning and the last thing off it at night. Found in Normandy and dating to the late 19th century, it has a domed lid, a curved spout, and a brass handle fitted with a hand-painted porcelain grip, blue flowers on white, matched by a little porcelain knob on the lid. Copper was the metal every good kitchen wanted because it takes the heat fast and boils water in no time, and the painted grip meant you could lift it off a hot stove without reaching for a cloth. Sylvie leaves it out on the stove, the copper catching the light and the blue-and-white handle the prettiest thing on the range.