Feature Articles


January Issue 2002

M. Mellanay Delhom and Her Collection at the Mint Museum

by Gerry Schmitt

For readers not familiar with the name M. Mellanay Delhom, this is the woman who brought her priceless 2,000 piece collection of pottery and porcelain to the Mint Museum of Art in Charlotte, NC, in 1967. Miss Delhom is 93 years old this year and still going strong. She has a keen mind. I remember last year meeting her in the hallway of the Mint and saying: "good morning Miss Delhom," she pointed to her watch and replied: "it's afternoon dear... two minutes after 12:00." She is a woman that pays attention to details, necessary for her research.

M. Mellanay Delhom was born in Ft. Worth, TX, and some of her friends call her "The Yellow Rose of Texas." She moved to Chicago in her twenties to study at the Art Institute and DePauw University. It was at that time she began building a ceramics collection that, by the mid-1960's, was courted by art museums worldwide. Through the efforts of Daisy Wade Bridges of Charlotte, a renowned collector, we can be grateful that Miss Delhom chose the Mint Museum for her world class ceramics and not one of the many other museums hoping to acquire this collection.

The Delhom Gallery is on the top floor of the Randolph Road Mint. The gallery offers a ceramics collection spanning two millennia and nine cultures.

In 1968, the Delhom Gallery and the Center for Ceramic Study opened at the Mint, and today offers excellent resources for research. Miss Delhom's own reference books are the foundation for the Delhom-Gambrell Reference Library. She is interested in NC pottery and is a strong supporter of contemporary artists. In 1971, Miss Delhom founded the NC Historical Pottery Exploration, responsible for finding the earliest known pottery in NC and establishing a link between "Tarheel" and 18th century Staffordshire potters.

Distinguishing herself as a collector of international renown would be enough for one person's lifetime, but Miss Delhom wore many hats. She CO-founded the famous Shangri-La Restaurant in Chicago, working there for 20 years. She took trips through the silk trade routes of the Middle East, climbed Pike's Peak, bought an old mansion in Chicago and turned it into condominiums in the early '50s, wrote an article for Time Magazine, and because of her expertise in Oriental ceramics, was the invited guest of Mao Tse Tung. She has studied Eastern religions and how artists used colors, shapes, and designs to express belief.

I first came in contact with Miss Delhom and her ceramics collection five years ago when I moved to Charlotte. I am the mother of six children and fed my family of eight three times a day on what I thought were just "dishes." What an understatement! As a member of the Mint Museum and the Delhom Service League, I was eligible to take the informal Orientation Classes, with lecturer Margaret Zimmermann, offered by the Delhom Service League from Oct. to Apr. For me, these classes have been a rare learning experience, not just about clay and ceramics of the world, but about the history surrounding the pieces. As a novice where ceramics are concerned, I found these classes not only informative, but fun. To show the variety of subjects covered, here is the schedule. We welcome new members.

Covered in 2001

Oct. 8 - What Are Ceramics? I
Oct. 22 - What are Ceramics? II
Nov. 5 - Oriental I
Nov. 12 - Oriental II

Scheduled for 2002

Jan. 7 - Tin Glaze I
Jan. 28 - Tin Glaze II
Feb. 4 - European Porcelain I
Feb. 11 - European Porcelain II
Feb. 25 - European Porcelain III
Mar. ll - English Pottery I
Mar. 25 - English Pottery II
Apr. 8 - The Legacy of Wedgwood
Apr. 22 - Moving into the 19th Century

Where else can you learn about ceramics having the classes surrounded by this unique collection? For example: pieces of Chinese ceramics from the T'ang Dynasty introduced 138 BC; Ming Dynasty in the 10th century; Wedgwood; Meissen; Staffordshire; Limoges, to name a few of the nine cultures represented.

Dr. Samuel Grober, from the Chicago area, was guest speaker at the Nov. 16, 2001 monthly meeting of the Delhom Service League. Dr. Grober is a luminary in the field of ceramics, as both collector and scholar. He said to the audience: "we had hoped Miss Delhom would choose Chicago for her collection, but she chose the Mint Museum of Art in Charlotte. I hope you all know that M. Mellanay Delhom put Charlotte on the cultural map with her collection."

Stop in and see the Mint's Delhom Gallery. Be sure to pick up a Gallery Guide giving the history on each piece, written by Dr. Barbara Perry, Curator of Decorative Arts at the Mint.

For more info call the Mint at 704/337-2000.

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