Japanese Teapots
Collecting Teapots: A Rich History Unfolds by Kimberley Benton
What do you collect? Most people collect one or two specific items and the passion usually begins in childhood. Coins, stamps, and antiques are often first thought of, but teapots have a rich history. The best part about a beautiful teapot is that beauty truly is in the eye of the beholder. With the varied styles and types available, there are designs that will capture your heart and soul. There are many traditions related to tea and in many countries, tea is a much as a part of history as just about anything else. The history and tradition behind collecting teapots is interesting, but nothing compares to the getting your next teapot to add to your collection!
The Origins of the Teapot – Before you learn about the history of teapots, it’s best to give a little history on the tea itself. There are varying stories as to the origin of tea, one of which gives credit to a Buddhist Monk and the other to a Chinese Emperor. One thing is certain – the first tea plant was brought to China from India in the 4th century. While teapots were not used until much later, the tea leaves were dried and crushed into a powder. The powder was mixed with salt to form cakes. These cakes were placed in bowls of boiling water. It eventually became easier to leave the tea in a powder form and simply whip it with water to form a frothy liquid.
The Ming Dynasty brought teapots to the forefront. First created out of “zisha” clay, these purple teapots were valued for their color, fine texture, and thin walls. These teapots were the inspiration for hard-paste porcelain used in the western world. However, the Ming Dynasty teapots also sparked the interest in Japan and by the 15th century, both the Chinese and the Japanese cultures had embraced tea for more than just medicinal purposes.
Creating Works of Art – It didn’t take long for many of the artists in China and Japan to begin designing teapots that featured nature themes or sutras. When the Japanese begin making teapots out of red clay, they brought over many artisans from China to teach the pottery methods. The inspiration for the designs came from both religious and nature-based backgrounds. Over the next 300 years, the love of tea would spread around the world and with it, the love for teapots.
Teapots Today – The globular shape of teapots today can be credited to the Europeans. This design may also have been inspired by the same shape of Islamic coffee pots. Most of the early European teapots were of poor quality, due to the poor quality of materials. During the 1700′s, a new clay helped create the fine porcelain than even rivaled that of China. The style and shape of these teapots is what most people are familiar with today. However, you can find teapots in every shape and style imaginable.
A Few Final Thoughts – It doesn’t matter if you have collected teapots for decades or you’re just starting your collection, you’re sure to find a wide selection that will suit your taste and style. The wonderful thing about teapots is that you seldom find two exactly alike. You’ll love the unique designs available today and with teapots of the past. A great idea would be to start or continue your collection by visiting our website at http://www.fancyteaparty.com Visit http://www.fancyteaparty.com for whimsical and traditional teapots, tea sets, and collectible miniature tea sets at great prices!
About the Author
|
|
Thermos Stainless Steel Tea Tumbler with Infuser … |
|
|
Hario VKB-120HSV V60 Coffee Drip Kettle Buono $45.00 Shaped like a beehive, this stylish stainless steel kettle is perfect for coffee dripping. A long, slender spout allows for a slim and smooth flow when pouring. It features a black easy-grip handle and a lid with three mini ventilation holes. “best new product” winner at world tea expo 2009… |
|
|
Zojirushi CV-DSC40 VE Hybrid Water Boiler and Warmer, Stainless Steel $134.99 The Zojirushi VE Hybrid Water Boiler and Warmer keeps water hot energy efficiently with vacuum insulation technology%2E This new items features super VE vacuum%2Delectric hybrid keep warm system%2E New energy efficient non%2Delectric keep warm%2E Micro computerized temperature control system%2E It displays actual water temperature at all times%2E It is easy to clean with a clear coated stainless s… |
|
|
Wallmonkeys Peel and Stick Wall Decals – Japanese Tea Ceremony – Removable Graphic WallMonkeys wall graphics are printed on the highest quality re-positionable, self-adhesive fabric paper. Each order is printed in-house and on-demand. WallMonkeys uses premium materials & state-of-the-art production technologies. Our white fabric material is superior to vinyl decals. You can literally see and feel the difference. Our wall graphics apply in minutes and won’t damage your paint or l… |
|
|
Wallmonkeys Peel and Stick Wall Decals – Blue Japanese Teapot with Strainer and Green Tea – Removable Graphic WallMonkeys wall graphics are printed on the highest quality re-positionable, self-adhesive fabric paper. Each order is printed in-house and on-demand. WallMonkeys uses premium materials & state-of-the-art production technologies. Our white fabric material is superior to vinyl decals. You can literally see and feel the difference. Our wall graphics apply in minutes and won’t damage your paint or l… |
|
|
Wallmonkeys Peel and Stick Wall Decals – Asian Teapot – Removable Graphic WallMonkeys wall graphics are printed on the highest quality re-positionable, self-adhesive fabric paper. Each order is printed in-house and on-demand. WallMonkeys uses premium materials & state-of-the-art production technologies. Our white fabric material is superior to vinyl decals. You can literally see and feel the difference. Our wall graphics apply in minutes and won’t damage your paint or l… |
|
|
Gyokuro Japanese Green Tea – Loose Leaf – 4oz $16.19 This is considered Japan’s best green tea. This is a steamed green tea with a full flavor and a satisfying light refreshing character. The tea is made from from single buds that are picked only in April/May. In an effort to develop increased chlorophyll (making them dark green) and reduced the tannin (giving a sweeter flavor with no bitterness), the tea is covered with black curtains or bamboo and… |
|
|
10 Jasmine Blooming Flower Tea $9.99 Fine jasmine scented tea leaves are hand tied around the base of a Red Globe Amaranth flower. As the tea steeps the leaves gently open and “bloom” into a lovely flower. These are a great alternative or compliment to wine at a dinner party. Serve in a wine glass to inspire conversation. Keep adding water to enjoy a beautiful jasmine flavor throughout the entire meal…. |
|
|
Japanese Ocean Blue Five Piece Teaset $54.99 Beautiful Teaset makes a wonderful gift for any occasion… |
|
|
Korin in a Teapot ~1.825 Mini-figure Keychain: DragonBall Kai Detekoi Pop Up Gimmick Keychain Series (Japanese Import) $12.99 The DragonBall Kai Detekoi “Pop Up” Gimmick Keychain series is created for the reboardcasted anime series DragonBall Kai. Each DragonBall Kai “Pop Up” Gimmick Keychain features a DragonBall character inside a keychain charm. With a click of a button on the charm, you can pop the character up (see the location of the button from the product image.) There are 7 keychains in the series (EACH SOLD … |
|
|
Teapots $37.46 This book is in New – Excellent condition |
|
|
500 Teapots $24.95 Contemporary Explorations of a Timeless Design It and 39;s a fabulous source book with 500 of the most creative teapots ever. From handbuilt to wheel-thrown, functional to sculptural, traditional to funky, theres a bit of everything in this artistic celebration. Some find inspiration in classic Asian designs. Others take a figurative approach. Still more look to the natural world. Browse through a variety of surface treatments, from intricate carved forms to narrative painted patterns. |
|
|
Teapots and Quails $33.02 Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork. |
|
|
British Teapots And Coffee Pots $10.5 This book is in New – Excellent condition |
|
|
Grand Mother’s Teapots $27.29 No Synopsis Available |
|
|
500 Teapots: Contemporary Explorations of a Timeless Design $22.48 It’s a fabulous source book with 500 of the most creative teapots ever. From handbuilt to wheel-thrown, functional to sculptural, traditional to funky, there’s a bit of everything in this artistic celebration. Some find inspiration in classic Asian designs. Others take a figurative approach. Still more look to the natural world. Browse through a variety of surface treatments, from intricate carved forms to narrative painted patterns. |
|
|
Antique Trader Teapots Price Guide $14.99 This book is in New – Excellent condition |
|
|
Blue Moon Madame Delphine’s Metal Charms-Teapots C(Pack of 1) $12.1 Blue Moon Madame Delphine’s Metal Charms-Teapots Cameo-Black 6/Pkg. BLUE MOON-Madame Delphine’s. Inspired by Ladies’ shoppes of yesteryear Madame Delphine’s Collection of accoutrements for jewelry captures the essence of the by-gone Victorian Era. The v |
|
|
Japanese $188 Japanese ranks as the sixth language of the world with more than 125 million speakers in the island state of Japan. Its genetic relation has been a topic of heated discussion, but Altaic and Austronesian languages appear to have contributed to the early formation of this language. It has a long written tradition, which goes back to texts from the eighth century AD. The modern writing system employs a mixture of Chinese characters and two sets of syllabary developed from the Chinese characters. This book consists of fourteen chapters covering the phonology, morphology, the writing system, grammatical constructions, and discourse and pragmatic phenomena of Japanese. It provides researchers with a useful typological reference and students of Japanese with a theory-neutral introduction to current linguistic research issues. IMPORTANT INFORMATION During the printing process of this book an unfortunate error occurred: page number 151 was mixed with the same page of another book. You will find the correct page here . This information applies only to the copies sold before November, 1, 2002. Please accept our apologies for the inconvenience. |
|
|
The Japanese Grill: $15.75 The Japanese Grill |
|
|
The Japanese Kitchen $13.58 The Japanese Kitchen |
|
|
Simply Japanese: $18.44 Simply Japanese |
|
|
Japanese Light $16.49 Japanese Light |
|
|
The Japanese Kitchen: $7.98 The Japanese Kitchen |
|
|
At The Japanese Table $6.98 At The Japanese Table |
|
|
Japanese Cooking $14.92 Japanese Cooking |
|
|
Essentially Japanese: $26.36 Essentially Japanese |
|
|
Japanese Kitchen $11.19 Japanese Kitchen |
