Cardew Club News » teapot collecting

Clearly, few objects are as widespread and recognizable as the teapot. From the traditional Japanese ritual tea ceremony known as “Chanoyu” to the modern-day childhood tea party, the teapot has played a central role in the history of tea drinking dating as far back as the 16th century, when the Chinese first created an unglazed teapot of brown or red stoneware for steeping tea leaves.
In 1610, Dutch importers brought tea to Europe, and along with it came the teapot, which at that time was relatively small and broad-based, having a spout and handle.

Afternoon tea is taken to stylish new heights in a monthlong exhibit at Lancaster Museum of Art.

Don’t be fooled. “The Artful Teapot” shows just how cool a spot of tea can be.

Manor Township resident Amy Thorn collects high-end teapots that are as clever as they are functional. And when she speaks of the afternoon-tea tradition, it’s with the passion of a collector who relishes the mystique of tea drinking missed by many Americans.

Who knew everything and everyone of any notoriety has been turned into a functioning teapot?

“Whatever your interest is, you will find it in a teapot,” Thorn said.

Beyond their aesthetic appeal, teapots are also attractive because they can appreciate in value, especially the ones made of porcelain and zisha that Giacomo Corp (M) Sdn Bhd CEO and chairman Jacob Chan collects.

TEAPOTS are vessels used for brewing tea leaves in near-boiling water.

To Giacomo Corp (M) Sdn Bhd chief executive officer and chairman Jacob Chan, Chinese teapots have not only been a part of Chinese culture for thousands of years, but are today also valuable antiques.

From classic teapots graced with a single apple painting to creative pots in the shape of a tea shop, the Historic Dundee Depot and Museum’s teapot display is quite the eye-catching attraction.

The 37 teapots have been on display since June 1. While the depot staff generally changes the display each month, the teapot display will be kept another month.

“There are things here that children would be interested in,” said Martha Lowe, a volunteer who works at the museum and is a member of the board that was given the responsibility to take over the depot in May 1998.

Tea parties are back, but in a new form. Home-based Victorian tea parties for birthdays or wedding showers, complete with elaborate food and huge Victorian hats, are in style.

Tea drinking has changed since tea was first served in London in about 1650. Legend goes that the first tea drinkers boiled the leaves, threw away the water and ate the bitter leaves. They soon learned a better way, steeping the tea leaves in hot water, adding milk and sugar and serving the flavored drink in small cups.

The University of Kentucky Department of Art will welcome ceramic artist Fong Choo to campus this Friday as its next artist/speaker in this year’s Visiting Artists and Scholars Series. During his residence, Choo will visit and work with UK art students, faculty and staff, and address the public and art department majors at a free lecture scheduled for noon Friday, March 23, in Room 118 of the Whitehall Classroom Building.

Dating and condition

The shapes of tea and coffee pots can help with dating them, but because many 18th-century styles were repeated in the 19th and 20th centuries you need to check the marks on the base to tell whether the piece is a later reproduction. There is nothing wrong with buying, say, a 19th-century coffee pot in an 18th-century style, provided the marks are correct for the date it was made and the pot is priced as a reproduction.