CHRISTLETON
Curios and Curioser
BY PHILIP HARLAND
TIME FOR TEA
My brother-in-law claims to drink at least twelve mugs of tea a day, from the first cup in the grey light of morning to the last before bed—a ritual he has observed for more than fifty years. His daily habit reflects a much older national devotion: one shaped by fashion, trade, scarcity, and changing tastes over centuries.
Chinese Cup and Tea Bowl, Nanking Cargo, c 1750
In 1752 just after leaving harbour in Nanking, China the Dutch East India Company ship the Geldermalsen sank, taking down with her tons of decorated ceramic on its way to Europe. A huge amount of this cargo was recovered in 1985 and has since been passed around auction houses. The superbly delicate tea bowl and saucer shown here is just one example and, for me illustrates just how important tea drinking had become outside of China by the mid-18th century.
Beautifully decorated Regency cups and saucers such as the two above produced by major British companies such as Spode and Coalport would have adorned middle class Drawing Rooms from the early 1800’s; Jane Austen uses Afternoon Tea as a vehicle for commentary on the culture and social mores of the time. Later came solid Victorian teapots, and elegant silver and silver-plated wares.
Silver-plated Tea Caddy c.1900
Along the way the tea caddy, accessed only by the Lady of the House, became a finely crafted item an essential container whose presence reminds us that tea was once precious enough to be stored with particular care.
Silver-plated Spirit Kettle c.1910
Collection of Victorian Teapots
Taken together, these objects reveal that tea was never just a drink. It was an occasion, a ceremony, and a display of taste. Tea bowls, cups, saucers, teapots, silver vessels, and caddies were not merely functional items, but objects through which people expressed refinement, status, and changing ideas about domestic life.