Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Posted by Miss Neddy at 10:31 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink
Categories: Tea Related Teapots

As I mentioned before, Lu Yu makes limited edition teapots, some of them themed. One of my favourites was the four Sacred Beasts set, which were very masculine and heavy. The four Sacred Beasts are legendary animals which guard the gates between the worlds of the living and the dead at the four cardinal points. They were the Green (or possibly Blue) Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird and Black (or Dark) Tortoise. I loved how hefty the pots were, and the striking design of each teapot. Even the Vermilion Bird had a raptor-like grace which was not effeminate in any way.

Alas, by the time I could afford to buy teapots, none of the tea-houses I frequented stocked any more of the pots. However, a new set, entirely different from the Sacred Beasts set, captured my attention. Where the Sacred Beasts were hefty, these were remarkably light, though they were not small for clay teapots. Where the Sacred Beasts were almost starkly masculine in their strong lines and fairly angular designs, these were all curves, reminiscent of flowers, clouds, sashes and musical instruments.

The Four Beauties have been mentioned more than once in this blog, especially in the entry on Lychee tea. The Four Beauties set are four light, curvaceous, vivacious teapots, each named for one of the Four Beauties of ancient China.

In my next few entries, I will talk about the four Beauties in more detail.

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