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Tea For Two, a New Infusion Visiting England a number of years ago, we stayed in London at a tiny hotel that had just been completed. The owner had taken two Georgian townhouses, joined them and then restored them to their original magnificence. There were only 22 guest rooms but there were many public rooms and they were all outstandingly beautiful. The woodwork and the moldings and the fireplaces were exquisite. The furnishings were all antiques, the kind I would have loved to take home. The walls were filled with paintings of the English countryside and portraits from a century ago or more. The lounge had a wall of French doors overlooking a charming English garden that was shared by a number of other houses much like these, really their own private park just for the few homes that surrounded it. A charming lady by the name of Sally Bullock was the general manager, last I heard she was managing The Athenaeum in London. Sally invited us to High Tea one afternoon and it was delightful. Interestingly, Angela Lansbury, her husband and the producer of the film they were then filming, "The Shell Seekers", were all staying at the hotel and joined us for tea. It was a memorable afternoon. In any case, tea was served in a handsome teapot with a variety of bone china cups and saucers, none matching and all very elegant, When I saw this collection of teapots it reminded me of that afternoon and I purchased them instantly. For those of you who are tea lovers these will be a delightful treat and for collectors of teapots these are the best I have ever seen. Each is priced at Retail: Upwards of $213.00. Our price each: $175.90. New and Show Stopping. A. The Golden Dragon Teapot Box. Designed for a tea called Guruchka it carries a tiny porcelain tag that says Guruchka. The golden dragon is touched with red and the square black pot is the perfect foil for all of the gold layered on it. Guruchka is obviously a Chinese tea though I can find nothing about it on any of the tea sites.The closing is a rather intricately designed shield. B. The Sri Lanka Teapot Box. Designed for Ceylon tea it carries a tiny porcelain tag that says Ceylon. (Did you know that Sri Lanka was formerly called Ceylon?) On a gold ground the design is of very tiny flowers, leaves and butterflies all done with considerable detail and wonderful coloring. I suspect that the leaves are tea leaves and the tiny blossoms, blossoms of a tea plant. A tiny blossom for the closing.The pot is cylindrical in shape. C. The Monarch Butterfly Teapot Box. Designed for Orange Pekoe tea it carries a tiny tag that says Orange Pekoe. There are a number of butterflies both large and small on this charming pot but the main one is a large orange and black Monarch. The ground is ivory. The closing a butterfly.The pot is octagonal in shape. D. The Lady Bedford Tea Pot Box. I have named this one after Anna, The Duchess of Bedford, who started it all when she served 4 o'clock tea to fill in the gap between luncheon and supper.The English are late diners. Made to serve Earl Grey Tea, the tag says so, it is a white ground done with a design based on tea leaves and blossoms in shades of light blue to navy and the shape is jug like. E. The Jeenie Teapot Box. So named because it is made to serve Darjeeling tea the tag says. A pale blue ground, with gold detailing and in relief, unpainted, white vines and leaves. The shape is similar to the pot that Aladdin's Genie lives in. A butterfly for the closing. My names and descriptions are uninspired but the teapots are beyond beautiful. I have never been more excited over a group of boxes. As I unpacked them I fell in love with each. A stunningly beautiful collection! About tea: Did you know that there are over 2000 varieties of tea? That wild tea plants can grow to over 90 feet in height and that before they were cultivated as a plantation crop they used trained monkeys to pick the leaves and throw them down where they could be collected? That tea is produced in more than 25 countries including China, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Malawi, Sri Lanka, Japan? And finally that there is a marvelous Tea Merchant in River Forrest, Illinois called Todd and Holland Tea Merchants who produce an incredible catalog, filled with hundreds of different teas for tea connoisseurs offering lyrical but vivid descriptions of each. It can be reached by going to www.todd-holland.com
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Sales or questions about the Limoges Porcelain Boxes: elayne@limogesporcelainboxes.com |
NOTE- This is a wonderful book,"Taking Tea" by Andrea Israel
with recipes by Pamela Mitchell. I own it and just love it. The menus are excellent and the recipes simple. They even tell you where, how and what to buy for every conceivable kind of tea party. It also gives a complete history of tea drinking.