I've been messing around on Pinterest lately, originally because I was curious to see what all the fuss was about, and secondly because it's actually a neat way to virtually collect "Terrific Teapots".
I've also been exchanging emails with some very keen teaware collectors, including a certain Mr. Harris who asked to see some of my favourite pots. So here they are:
First up is Red Breasted Robin, a tiny Taiwanese fellow with a gargoyle for a lid handle. He likes Taiwanese Oolong, and has recently devoured a medium roast LiShan TieGuanYin, and an Alishan insect-bitten oriental beauty. He has all the rustic patina of an antique, yet it's all in the glaze, he is in fact a 2011 creation. But his dimunitive size is perfect for drinking alone. Cutest of all, he has an airhole just beneath the gargoyles bum.
Red breasted robin
Then we have the Xishi siblings. The oldest child is dedicated to shupu, but had to be triple boiled and reset after our last trip to Yunnan because somebody forgot to empty out the spent shu inside. Repulsed & horrified by the nuclear green mould that greeted our return, I immediately dumped the contents out, and missed the opportunity to photograph the first sentient life form to grow inside a teapot.
The middle Xishi child radiates natural beauty from showering everyday with ancient tea tree shengpu extract, whilst the youngest child stubbornly refuses to gleam at all. It is however, the only duan ni pot in my collection, so has a special place in my heart... for now.
The middle Xishi child radiates natural beauty from showering everyday with ancient tea tree shengpu extract, whilst the youngest child stubbornly refuses to gleam at all. It is however, the only duan ni pot in my collection, so has a special place in my heart... for now.
Xishi siblings
Pumpkin is a recent acquisition, less than 6 months old, but she is the work of a master, and I had long admired her perfectly balanced curves before my bank account finally caught up to my pot lust. Belle was quite jealous when I brought her home. Made from the highest quality yixing clay I've come across, she is already glowing with a lustrous shine. Not just a pretty face, she has 3 stamps on her curved interior - no mean feat - and does a damn fine job of making tea for 4.
Pumpkin
I was planning on introducing more of the tea urchin family today, but Belle is impatient to watch Supernatural, which does not air in China and can only be watched on the computer. As little Miles has been extraordinarily cranky & difficult today, I must appease the woman. So much for the finer things in life!