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history of teapots

updated wed 26 may 99

 

Murray & Bacia Edelman on wed 19 may 99

I asked yesterday if anyone knew how long teapots as we now make and use
them were in existence. I should have taken time to research instead of
just hitting the list. But I couldn't manage time to go to library. I am
not skilled at searching the web and am rushed to get a STATEMENT written
and mailed about my teapots. In one of my filed statements, I had written
"........forms used over hundreds of years makes me feel related to our
past and our future--to all the people who ate and drank soothing drinks,
to those who do, and to those who will."

I have since learned that there is our typical teapot in the front of Garth
Clark's major book (not the one about teapots, which exists
in our University library) that was dated 1882. And I know in 18th C.
British literature, having tea was written about often. I still don't know
when our lidded teapots with handles and spouts were in common usage.
I remember seeing a wonderful French porcelain teapot at the Boston Museum
of Fine Arts, at least from the mid 19th C.

Encyclopedia Britannica , very old edition, states : " The origin of the
teapot is the Chinese wine jug." Do you want more? "Dr. Nicholas Brady,
chaplain to the court of William and Mary, called tea "the sovereign drink
of pleasure and health,"in his poem, "The Tea Table."

For the information of the good Aussie potters on the list, "Waltzing
Matilda" is an Australian billycan tea song. As I try to dredge up the
words from a few weeks at a Girl Scout camp, I think the words billabong or
billybong were in the song, not billycan.

I am enjoying this search for information on the origin of the teapot.
Anybody else? Now if someone would write my "short statement" for the show
catalog!! But I CAN now use that sentence if I wish.

Regards, Bacia Edelman (who was born many long years ago in Boston,
where the Boston Tea Party helped precipitate the American Revolution.)

Nils Lou on thu 20 may 99

I have a yi xing teapot 1800's or so. Been told they were originators and
shipped them in bales of tea to Europe to encourage tea sales there. Don't
know for sure if they (chinese) made them first, but maybe. NL

On Wed, 19 May 1999, Murray & Bacia Edelman wrote:

> ----------------------------Original message----------------------------
> I asked yesterday if anyone knew how long teapots as we now make and use
> them were in existence. I should have taken time to research instead of
> just hitting the list. But I couldn't manage time to go to library. I am
> not skilled at searching the web and am rushed to get a STATEMENT written
> and mailed about my teapots. In one of my filed statements, I had written
> "........forms used over hundreds of years makes me feel related to our
> past and our future--to all the people who ate and drank soothing drinks,
> to those who do, and to those who will."
>
> I have since learned that there is our typical teapot in the front of Garth
> Clark's major book (not the one about teapots, which exists
> in our University library) that was dated 1882. And I know in 18th C.
> British literature, having tea was written about often. I still don't know
> when our lidded teapots with handles and spouts were in common usage.
> I remember seeing a wonderful French porcelain teapot at the Boston Museum
> of Fine Arts, at least from the mid 19th C.
>
> Encyclopedia Britannica , very old edition, states : " The origin of the
> teapot is the Chinese wine jug." Do you want more? "Dr. Nicholas Brady,
> chaplain to the court of William and Mary, called tea "the sovereign drink
> of pleasure and health,"in his poem, "The Tea Table."
>
> For the information of the good Aussie potters on the list, "Waltzing
> Matilda" is an Australian billycan tea song. As I try to dredge up the
> words from a few weeks at a Girl Scout camp, I think the words billabong or
> billybong were in the song, not billycan.
>
> I am enjoying this search for information on the origin of the teapot.
> Anybody else? Now if someone would write my "short statement" for the show
> catalog!! But I CAN now use that sentence if I wish.
>
> Regards, Bacia Edelman (who was born many long years ago in Boston,
> where the Boston Tea Party helped precipitate the American Revolution.)
>

NakedClay@aol.com on thu 20 may 99

Hi Bascha, and other teapot enthusiasts!

You might want to visit the San Francisco Asian Museum's
website: The permanent collection includes many
examples of early Chiness teapots, water boilers, and other related wares.
When in San Francisco, don't miss it!

Milton NakedClay@AOL.COM
Now getting cooler, to a balmy 89 degrees, F. The Mojave Desert is alive with
all kinds of migrating birds, coming soon to a tree branch near you!

Cairns on fri 21 may 99

There is an amazing musem of tea in Hong Kong, perhaps one could track it on
net. I believe earliest teapots were made in China. Beverley in Elora, Ont.



At 05:28 PM 5/19/99 EDT, you wrote:
>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>I asked yesterday if anyone knew how long teapots as we now make and use
>them were in existence. I should have taken time to research instead of
>just hitting the list. But I couldn't manage time to go to library. I am
>not skilled at searching the web and am rushed to get a STATEMENT written
>and mailed about my teapots. In one of my filed statements, I had written
>"........forms used over hundreds of years makes me feel related to our
>past and our future--to all the people who ate and drank soothing drinks,
>to those who do, and to those who will."
>
>I have since learned that there is our typical teapot in the front of Garth
>Clark's major book (not the one about teapots, which exists
>in our University library) that was dated 1882. And I know in 18th C.
>British literature, having tea was written about often. I still don't know
>when our lidded teapots with handles and spouts were in common usage.
>I remember seeing a wonderful French porcelain teapot at the Boston Museum
>of Fine Arts, at least from the mid 19th C.
>
>Encyclopedia Britannica , very old edition, states : " The origin of the
>teapot is the Chinese wine jug." Do you want more? "Dr. Nicholas Brady,
>chaplain to the court of William and Mary, called tea "the sovereign drink
>of pleasure and health,"in his poem, "The Tea Table."
>
>For the information of the good Aussie potters on the list, "Waltzing
>Matilda" is an Australian billycan tea song. As I try to dredge up the
>words from a few weeks at a Girl Scout camp, I think the words billabong or
>billybong were in the song, not billycan.
>
>I am enjoying this search for information on the origin of the teapot.
>Anybody else? Now if someone would write my "short statement" for the show
>catalog!! But I CAN now use that sentence if I wish.
>
>Regards, Bacia Edelman (who was born many long years ago in Boston,
>where the Boston Tea Party helped precipitate the American Revolution.)
>
>

Daniel Considine on fri 21 may 99

Do you mean western tea pots??
Other wise you'lll have to go back to the roots of tea,.i.e. China and Asia
>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>I asked yesterday if anyone knew how long teapots as we now make and use
>them were in existence. I should have taken time to research instead of
>just hitting the list. But I couldn't manage time to go to library. I am
>not skilled at searching the web and am rushed to get a STATEMENT written
>and mailed about my teapots. In one of my filed statements, I had written
>"........forms used over hundreds of years makes me feel related to our
>past and our future--to all the people who ate and drank soothing drinks,
>to those who do, and to those who will."
>
>I have since learned that there is our typical teapot in the front of Garth
>Clark's major book (not the one about teapots, which exists
>in our University library) that was dated 1882. And I know in 18th C.
>British literature, having tea was written about often. I still don't know
>when our lidded teapots with handles and spouts were in common usage.
>I remember seeing a wonderful French porcelain teapot at the Boston Museum
>of Fine Arts, at least from the mid 19th C.
>
>Encyclopedia Britannica , very old edition, states : " The origin of the
>teapot is the Chinese wine jug." Do you want more? "Dr. Nicholas Brady,
>chaplain to the court of William and Mary, called tea "the sovereign drink
>of pleasure and health,"in his poem, "The Tea Table."
>
>For the information of the good Aussie potters on the list, "Waltzing
>Matilda" is an Australian billycan tea song. As I try to dredge up the
>words from a few weeks at a Girl Scout camp, I think the words billabong or
>billybong were in the song, not billycan.
>
>I am enjoying this search for information on the origin of the teapot.
>Anybody else? Now if someone would write my "short statement" for the show
>catalog!! But I CAN now use that sentence if I wish.
>
>Regards, Bacia Edelman (who was born many long years ago in Boston,
>where the Boston Tea Party helped precipitate the American Revolution.)
>
>
Daniel P. CONSIDINE, PhD
Waseda University

102 Century Mansion
4-23-11 Irumagawa
Sayama city 350-1305, Japan

Phone/Fax +81 42-954-2401
Cellular 090-8105-8750

Joyce Lee on sat 22 may 99

I think Bacia originally asked for the first known date for teapot
usuage. The best detailed history of teapots that I could find while
surfing is "Teapots: an Historical Overview"
at: http://www.stashtea.com/teapots.htm

While checking bookmarks for teapots I ran into Michael McDowell's
homepage again, also...haven't peeked in for a while... very fine,
indeed. You can see one of Dannon's gorgeous pots there, also:

http://www2.memes.com/mmpots/default.htm

Joyce
In the Mojave thinking about spending lotsa bucks for a sculptural
wallhanging but unable to find the one I'm visualizing ... duh... how
about making it yourself, dumdum, sez I to me. Has Clayart not taught
you anything?

Caroline Cheng on sat 22 may 99

According to my limited history of Chinese tea drinking, it all started
with some guy called Luk Yu, and with it came the art of teapots, tea
drinking and such. Yixing teapots are well known for its clay; it
absorbs the tea fragrances but are non-porous to keep the tea in the pot.
Surrounding the Yixing area are well known tea plantations.

There is a teaware museum in Hong Kong, they exhibit mostly Yixing
teapots.

Caroline Cheng
The Pottery Workshop
Hong Kong

Marcia Selsor on sun 23 may 99

I did an art history paper in 1968 on Northern and Southern Song Dynasty
teabowls. I don't remember any teapots, but the bowls were my focus (as
a 20 year old art student) I hope everyone knows the differnece in form
between a winter and summer tea bowl. Same difference as in a cream
based soup bowl and a water based soup bowl. There are no handles on tea
bowls because if the cup is too hot to handle, you should not ingest
such a hot drink -zen!
maybe the guy who invented tea drinking should have the name Luk Wom!
-just kidding, but that's what went off in my head when I read about Luk
Yu. Song Dynasty was after Tang and equal to early middle ages in Europe..
Marci in Montana

Caroline Cheng wrote:
>
> ----------------------------Original message----------------------------
> According to my limited history of Chinese tea drinking, it all started
> with some guy called Luk Yu, and with it came the art of teapots, tea
> drinking and such. Yixing teapots are well known for its clay; it
> absorbs the tea fragrances but are non-porous to keep the tea in the pot.
> Surrounding the Yixing area are well known tea plantations.
>
> There is a teaware museum in Hong Kong, they exhibit mostly Yixing
> teapots.
>
> Caroline Cheng
> The Pottery Workshop
> Hong Kong

--
Marcia Selsor
selsor@imt.net
http://www.imt.net/~mjbmls
http://www.imt.net/~mjbmls/spain99.html

Timothy Dean Malm on sun 23 may 99

Greetings: One of the wonderful places I visited last time in London was
the Btrahma museum of tea and Coffee. Don't know the address but do
remember the basis location, just across the London bridge from the Tower
of London. I found it a very interesting place to go for any person
interested in history. Sincerely, Tim Malm

Corinne P. Null on tue 25 may 99


Marci in Montana wrote
>I hope everyone knows the differnece in form
>between a winter and summer tea bowl. Same difference as in a cream
>based soup bowl and a water based soup bowl.

Now, I think I do know the difference between a winter and summer tea bowl,
but I've never heard of the difference between a cream and water based soup
bowl! Please, do tell, which is which?

>There are no handles on tea
>bowls because if the cup is too hot to handle, you should not ingest
>such a hot drink -zen!

Brilliant! I love such clear logic. Thank you!

Corinne Null
Bedford, NH
USA

null@mediaone.net