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Beau-tea-ful what?

Related Images

  • Fig. 21: Lacquer Chabako (tea box), Japan, late 16th -early 17t century, Momoyama-Edo period, 21 cm (l) , wood, lacquer, silver foil inlay, copper ring fittings, Itō family, Japan, Sotheby’s , lot 64, https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2019/fine-japanese-art/a-lacquer-chabako-tea-box- momoyama-edo-period-late
  • Fig. 22: Anonymous, tea jar, Japan,18th century, Edo period, black lacquer with gold, 7.3 cm(h); 8.1 cm (diam.) H. O. Havemeyer Collection, Bequest of Mrs. H. O. Havemeyer, 1929, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, inv.nr. 29.100.714, https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/58248
  • Fig. 23: Anonymous, tea canister, Chinese, 1790-1810, porcelain with underglaze blue; dimensions unknown, DAR Museum, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, 1776 D Street NW, Washington, DC, USA. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:DAR_pot_- _IMG_8658.JPG
  • Fig. 24: De Metaale Pot, Tea canister made of faience painted with multi-coloured enamel, Delft, c.1695-1720, 9,3 × 5,8 × 5,8 cm (h,w,d), Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, inv.nr. BK-NM-11524. http://hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.16039
  • Fig. 25: De Grieksche A, Dutch Delft blue and white tea caddy with screw cap, Delft, c.1687-1701, 14,5 cm (h), image credit: Rob Michiels Auctions, https://www.rm- auctions.com/en/european-arts-autumn-2019/15859-a-dutch-delft-blue-and-white-tea-caddy- with-screw-cap-late-17th-c

So what is the function of this object? It is known as a chabako (茶箱) in Japanese: a tea canister, otherwise called a tea box or tea caddy. Tea canisters have been used for many centuries and thus have a long history. The emergence of tea canisters in Japan took place around the Edo period, roughly from 1603 to 1868. To illustrate, look at this brown and black example, both made of lacquerware [fig.21&22] Tea canisters, like the blue and white ginger jar-shaped example from China [fig.23], were mostly made of either faience or porcelain. In Europe, tea boxes emerged as the tea export from China expanded significantly. The first small shipment of green tea was brought by the Dutch, approximately around 1610. At the time, tea leaves were regarded as a luxury commodity and curiosity on the one hand, and a type of medicine on the other, as it was claimed that tea might be beneficial to health.

Not only is there a relationship with the East in terms of style and shape, but also in purpose. Tea was exceptionally valuable. This is where such canisters come into play, as they were intended for storing loose tea. The containers do a great job of maintaining a high quality, preventing damage by humidity or insects. A tea canister would often have a stopper or lid to conserve the contents as best as possible. As seen in the partly black and partly white-and-blue canister [fig.24], many were outfitted with a screw cap [fig.25]. It was also not uncommon for 18th-century examples to be lockable to ensure that the contents were stored safely.

When tea was served, canisters would find their place on tables. Besides having a clear purpose of holding tea, they were also admired for their beauty. Most definitely, due to their prominent placement, they of course had to be ornamented according to the latest fashion. In the 17th and 18th centuries, heaps of tea canisters were produced in Delft. Almost all tea canisters scream to be displayed: they have a highly artistic and refined character and most certainly reflect the precious contents kept inside. In delicate ways, materials were transformed to make up various designs.

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