A rare rainbow spatter teapot, circa 1840, appeals to ceramic collectors as well as art lovers. The teapot pictured is owned by collector Jane Katcher, a retired pediatric radiologist whose entire collection is pictured in Expressions of Innocence and Eloquence (Yale University Press), a must-read for Americana addicts. Other big-time spatter and spongeware collectors include Pennsylvania Germans, Henry Francis du Pont and artist Andy Warhol.

Photograph: Courtesy of Sotheby’s