A Tea Addict's Journal

Made during the Ming

March 23, 2012 · 1 Comment

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“Made during the Ming, a pair of hat-lidded teapots, treasured items”. These are not my words – they’re the words of Sato Kian, who was a mid 19th century artist in Japan and whose inscription graces the front of this box and whose signature and seal are on the back.

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Inside are two little things that are most interesting.

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Things like this can be a little hard to use, and I haven’t quite given it any thought what I’ll do with them. The “hat-lidded” reference sort of makes sense – the lids are on top of the pot, much like a hat, rather than fitting completely over an opening or some such. They have “overhangs” that go over the top and wrap around the body, and the spout is a very cute, classic three point spout.

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Are they really Ming? I can’t say for sure. Are they old? Yes. They’re not going to be as functional as, say, a new shuiping that you can find easily in a store and pours flawlessly, but as you’ve heard many times before, I like these quirky pots. These are no different.

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