Tea ware

TEA WARE

History has recorded England and China used ceramic ware to drink their tea and those records go into great detail, showing contrasts and similarities between each culture's ceramics. The vast ideological differences between England and China show how social, political and ritualistic issues were reflected in the developments and changes made to the ware visually, as well as its functionality. Were the issues in each culture a result of external or internal influences, exchange, inspiration or necessity? A brief history of the origin of tea as a drink and how the very nature of these issues affected ceramics will be included. Perspectives formulated by developments and changes resulting from various oddities inherent in each culture will also be discussed.
In China, from the Song to the Qing dynasties the major tea vessel was the tea bowl, which make up the majority of teacups exported were the lovely handle-less tea bowls the Chinese used. With the increase in exportatio...