In the 17th century, Chinese porcelain teapots exported to Europe were new and exciting in shape and design and used only by the few who could afford tea. In the 18th century, as tea became more available, Chinese teapots were mass-produced, distinctiveness an afterthought.
Iowa native and graduate of the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine Dr. Shirley M. Mueller will tell that story in her lecture, “Dutch Tea Time and Beyond,” on Wednesday, Oct. 1, at 7:30 p.m. in Art Building West on the University of Iowa campus.
Her talk is free and open to the public. It is the first of three lectures that complement UI Museum of Art’s fall exhibition Tea Time: Going Dutch in the Black Box Theater at the UI's Iowa Memorial Union.
Mueller is an author, lecturer, and collector of Chinese export porcelain. Her recent publications investigate the chronological development of 17th and 18th century Chinese export teapots and explore why collectors collect. She has lectured in London, Paris, South Africa, Singapore, China, and across the United States.
Her exhibition, The Luxury of Tea and Coffee, is now on display at the Indianapolis Museum of Art. She also curated an exhibition relating to errors made in orders for Chinese export porcelain at the same museum in 2000.
After graduating from the UI Carver College of Medicine, Mueller was professor and chief of neurology at Wishard Memorial Hospital, Indiana University, for 10 years but left that profession in 1995 and embarked on a career in investment. She is currently president and CEO of MyMoneyMD.
Visit uima.uiowa.edu/ for more information about the UIMA’s collections, exhibitions, and education programming.
Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to attend all UI-sponsored events. If you are a person with a disability who requires a reasonable accommodation in order to attend this lecture, contact UI Museum of Art in advance at 319-335-1727.
After the June 2008 flooding of the UIMA's former Riverside Drive home, the building was deemed unsuitable for the return of artwork. However, the UIMA collection was saved, and through the use of temporary facilities and creative outreach, the UIMA continues to offer the invaluable experience of art to the University, the community, Iowans and others at these locations:
UIMA@IMU Visual Classroom, Iowa Memorial Union, Room 376
125 North Madison Street, Iowa City, Iowa 52242
Black Box Theater, Iowa Memorial Union, third floor
125 North Madison Street, Iowa City, Iowa 52242
Figge Art Museum
225 West Second St., Davenport, Iowa 52801