Dive into tantalizing, eye-catching objects dubbed "teapots," but be
warned, serving tea is not necessarily their purpose. Though many
artists are making functional, traditional teapots; other artistic
adventurers are brewing up whimsical sculpture. Explore unique designs
and materials. With the usual image of a ceramic or silver teapot in
one's minds eye, how do you confront a teapot made with holes around the
body? Or one made of woven fabrics, of silk with lace and buttons, wood,
and coins? You do so with tongue in cheek and an intellectual, fine art
sensibility. Dona Z. Meilach tackles the burgeoning activity of teapot
making and collecting with over 450 dazzling color images of teapots
from 227 artists in fourteen countries. She begins with a short history
of why teapots evolved as late as the 1500s, when tea had already been
consumed for generations. She introduces artists and talks about
collectors, what they buy, where to buy, and ideas for displaying
collections. And she plumbs her vast knowledge of artist's techniques
and materials and produces an electrifying compilation that will keep
you turning pages and coming back again and again. With teapot
collecting escalating so rapidly, this book is a must for private and
corporate collectors, decorators, and museum curators to learn who is
doing what, where, how, and why.
