Camel Teapot with Snake Handle, ca. 1745.
Credit Chazen Museum of Art
In Madison’s Chazen Museum, there is an exhibit of 18th Century Ceramics that was curated by students and the Chipstone Professor in the Department of Art History Ann Smart Martin.
Martin says that objects like those in the exhibit offer clues that allow us to create or reconstruct a story about the pieces themselves. But they also help us create a story about the person or people who used them. Martin tells material culture contributor Gianofer Fields there is one piece she’s particularly interested in: a teapot shaped like a camel:
Gianofer Fields studies material culture at UW-Madison and is the curator of "It's a Material World" - a project funded by the Chipstone Foundation, a decorative arts foundation whose mission is preserving and interpreting their collection, as well as stimulating research and education in the decorative arts.
