Hello Everyone,
“The mere chink of cups and saucers tune the mind to happy repose” - George Gissing
There is nothing like the enjoyment someone can receive from owning and using the perfect tea cup. Perhaps it’s the fond reminiscences of conversations during tea time with friends, or the memories invoked by a perfect day antiquing, that makes a tea cup hold a special place in your heart. Each tea cup in my home not only holds a special story and pleasurable memory, but is considered a beloved collectible.
Like anything else, the tea cup has quite a history. Their history began in China as a simple and handle free vessel. When tea became popular among the Europeans in the 17th century, they found it quite intolerable to hold a steaming hot cup. So the addition of a tea handle was born and became an integral part of teatime. They first used silver as the handles, but they seemed to also hold heat. This became a problem with the holding of the tea cup. Next came a wonderful solution through changing the silver to porcelain in the 1600’s. However, porcelain did had some draw backs as well. This is why an influential lady started adding milk in the teacup before the hot tea was served. Tempering the tea in this manner made the tea cup better to handle and kept it from cracking.
Now that teacups could be handled easily, they became integrated into society for not only a pleasurable experience for relationships, but status also. In the 19th century, the tea cup took on another role as a collectible. They found their way upon display shelves and used as gifts and keepsakes. They became little pieces of art that could intrigue anyone’s interest. They have become a vital part of culture and deeply rooted in family tradition. Whether the expanse of your tea cup collection is large or small, expensive or modestly found at an antique store, the repose found in them is the same. I hope, like me, you find some comfort and enjoyment out of using a variety of your own teacup collection to ensure the legacy of the teacup endures to the future generation.
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