Wonder and Delight: A Dolph Gotelli Christmas

Designer and collector Dolph Gotelli creates wondrous Christmas displays by combining his various collections into exquisite celebratory installations. Inspired by his international travel, a Neapolitan crèche is flanked by a jeweled textile from Rajasthan, a Mexican angel is surrounded by Chinese paper garlands, and Christmas trees are adorned with German ornaments and Victorian ephemera. Gotelli's whimsical designs are presented in a series of creative tablescapes documented from assorted installations. In his design for a fantasy tea party at the Filoli Mansion near San Francisco, the entire tabletop, frosted like a cake, displayed a wonderful variety of confections, including a sugarplum fairy alighting next to a glass-domed gingerbread castle. The china teacups and dessert plates, complete with the image of Santa, were set among trees composed of every imaginable candy, chocolate molded figures, and lollipops. This spectacular chronicle of Gotelli’s work would be welcome under any Christmas tree.