Whimsical teacup

Many years ago I discovered the "Jeeves and Wooster" stories** by British humorist P.G. Wodehouse. In one of the stories, the protagonist and upperclass twit Bertie Wooster is asked by his Aunt Dahlia to steal a silver cow creamer from a rival collector.

It had never occurred to me before reading this that a creamer could be in any shape other than a pitcher and I was amused at the thought of the milk pouring out of the cow's mouth and into a cup of tea. This set me on a course of collecting pitchers in the shape of animals. I have a sizable collection, ranging from pigs and cows to penguins.

All of this is a long-winded way of saying that I favor whimsy in my tabletop items. This is precisely what attracted me to this wonderful little teacup. This hand-glazed earthenware cup from Argentina has an itty-bitty chair in the middle. I'm not certain that I would pay $30 for a teacup for myself, but I would absolutely love to get this as a gift. It's from a website called LAMA, which stands for Latin America in the Modern Age.

**In the Jeeves and Wooster stories, lovable numbskull Bertie is always rescued from misfortune by his exceptionally intelligent (and patient) valet, Jeeves. Although many actors have played the parts of Jeeves and Wooster, my personal favorites are Stephen Frye (as Jeeves) and Hugh Laurie (as Bertie). I thought that since there are undoubtedly a lot of "House" fans out there, you might enjoy seeing a clip of Hugh Laurie playing the ineffably stupid Bertie. Watch it to the end to hear a reference to the cow creamer.