Brittle Beauty

""It is wonderful to leaf through this beautiful work... a publication which in the future will be an indispensable reference work for museums, auction houses and traders and not least for collectors, especially on the basis of the insightful essays. The book is a feast for the eyes and an absolutely exciting read.""-- ""Keramiske Noter"" ""Through this publication with its exquisite photography and outstanding scholarship, we also have access to the taste and discernment of two inspired collectors, an opportunity for enlightenment and just pure delight.""-- ""French Porcelain Society Newsletter"" ""This beautiful catalogue features 80 ceramic pieces--stoneware and porcelain pottery and sculpture--in a private collection built over 30 years. In his introduction Munger (curator, Metropolitan Museum of Art) describes the development of soft- and hard-paste porcelain in the early 18th century and the influence on European ceramics of Asian art and works in other media. Provenance, processes, and historic and artistic influences are explored in essays by five noted European (including British) and American curators. The works are exquisite and some are eccentric. All evidence the highest level of craftsmanship and artistic expression, which is superbly captured in the photographs of each piece. The 18th-century ceramic works in this collection represent the coming of a new age in art in Europe with the technological development of porcelain and polychrome ceramic surfaces, which emerged in tandem with the Age of Enlightenment.""-- ""Choice"" ""Illustrations of 80 porcelain vessels and sculptures from a private collection are accompanied by essays examining the social, political and artistic contexts of their creation, alongside colorful accounts of the quirks of patrons and former owners.""-- ""Apollo""