The Artful Teapot (aláírt példány) [antikvár]

PrefaceThis book contains some of the masterpieces from an extraordinary collection of teapots assembled by Sonny and Gloria Kamm. Through my much valued friendship with the Kamms I have been fortunate to have been a witness to, and an occasional participant in, the growth of this cultural treasure since its early informal beginnings more than a decade ago. I began working on this book as a prematurely anointed "teapot expert," having authored The Eccentric Teapot, the most popular teapot book to date. However, I was quickly demoted to student by the scope of this remarkable collection. Gently the Kamms encouraged me to accompany them on their journey, to explore areas hitherto untouched, to rethink premises, and to experience with them the discovery of new masterworks.The passionate sense of mission with which this collection has been pursued can be gleaned from the legend on the license plate surround on Sonny's car. It reads: "He who has the Most Teapots Wins!" That Sonny is the victor is uncontested, yet, when he arrivés at his home in Southern California and climbs out of his car, he is met at the garage door by another sign. This has been placed there by Gloria, and is a drawing of a teapot within a red circle with a diagonal line across it The message is telegraphically clear: "No More Teapots." The two signs demarcate the boundaries of a warm and playful relationship between the two. Sonny's foot is on the accelerator and Gloria's is ever so lightly on the brake. "The only times I have ever 'cheated on' Gloria have been over the purchase of teapots," Sonny admits. So Gloria does not have to look out for lipstick marks on the collar. It's tea stains that are the giveaway in this case.As much as Gloria tries to moderate the flow of teapots, she also brings her refined and informed taste to the process of selection. This has been honed by years of collecting in her own right (antique silver serving pieces are one area of fascination), owning a glass gallery with Sonny, and nearly a quarter-century of duty as a volunteer museum docent. Sonny, himself a successful corporate attorney who lectures throughout the United States on tax law, makes the call on buying the cheaper "collectible" teapots that he finds on internet auction sites and at the myriad flea markets that he so assiduously scours over weekends. However, the purchase of a major work by an artist is always the result of mutual agreement, a process of debate and critical analysis that sharpens the quality of the collection and is a lively primary source of the pleasure the couple and their close-knit family derive from the collection.The collection is now the largest of its kind in America and arguably in the world. Certainly, there is no other that I know of, either in private or public hands, that approaches its depth and breadth. At its core is the unique, one-of-a-kind teapot, made by an artist. Many of these have been specially commissioned by the Kamms from both the crafts and fine arts worlds. Finding rare treasures from the past is certainly a big thrill, particularly for Sonny, but working with living artists was the original impetus for the collection and remains the Kamms' greatest satisfaction. These freely-explored sculptural forms - the focus of this book - are given context by thousands of 20th-century factory-made teapots, and a growing collection of earlier rarities - ceramic and silver masterpieces from the 1801 and 1901 centuries.What makes this collection so significant is the magie of the teapot. A similar collection of, say, thousands of vases would not have the same sense of social complexity, tumultuous cultural history,