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Dana King Gatchell Teapot Collection
Grand Gallery
The College of Human Sciences at Auburn University made a generous transfer of property to the JCSM in 2007. Adding diversity and depth to the museum’s holdings in decorative arts, the college’s gift comprised a distinctive selection of teapots originally assembled by Alabama native, Dana King Gatchell (1888–1960). “Miss Gatchell,” professor of home economics at the Alabama Polytechnic Institute in Auburn, was head of the food and nutrition department for more than 30 years and indisputable doyenne of table arts during her tenure there, from 1923 to 1956.
Totaling 59 pieces, the museum’s collection encompasses objects created across three continents and two centuries. From mid-19thcentury Asian vessels to works created in the 20th-century pottery centers of Europe and the American South and Mid-West, Gatchell’s teapots reveal the collector’s boundless curiosity and discriminating eye. The Gatchell Teapot exhibition is on display in the Grand Gallery of the museum now through the end of the year.
