The Collection

Sonny and Gloria Kamm have created a vast and wide-ranging collection centered on a single item, the teapot. It began as a search for interesting and fun teapots to place in their home. Their interests in contemporary art and glass led them to pursue teapots made by artists. Along the way, they discovered a world of teapot collectors and enthusiasts.

The Kamms organized their teapots into several broad categories. 1) Artist-made works include functional pottery, sculpture in all media, and two-dimensional art. This group is international with a majority from the USA. The period covers the 20th and 21rst centuries with a concentration in the 1990’s and 2000’s. 2) Antiques include pottery, porcelain, silver, metal and glass teapots and tea sets from the 18th – 20th centuries and from all over the world. 3) Novelty is a special group of teapots. These are made of ceramic and take the shape of anything and everything (i.e., buildings, animals, people) and are meant to delight and amuse. Some are factory made in the thousands. Others are studio made in limited editions. Novelty teapots are a phenomenon among collectors, especially in England where some private collections have become tourist attractions. This group is mainly 20th century from the USA, England, and Asia. 4) Production teapots and tea sets are factory made and include ceramic, metal, and glass from the 20th century. This group features industrial design and is international is scope. 5) Artifacts include items that have the image of a teapot or are tea related. These include advertisements, clothes, toys, household goods, etc. Surprisingly, the teapot is an often-used reference in material culture.

On this website, the collection is mostly categorized by media. Within these is a mix of artist-made, antique, and production teapots. You can use tags in the search field to find these sub-groups. You can also search by maker, period, and subject matter.