There are many examples of fine tea ware but some of the most notable were the Delftware such as the Frazackerly type out of Liverpool in 1750 which boasted cups without handles and saucers, toy tea services in tin glazed earthenware, brown salt glazed teapots; Lowstoft softpaste tea ware out of Chelsea; Jasper tea ware sets which were from Wedgewood out of Staffordshire; Worcester enameled porcelain teapots and, not to be left out, the unusual such as the famous Cauliflower ware teapots from Wedgewood in Whieldon.
The Chinese tea bowl never had a handle but in Chinese literature, the Yanfanlu (or Elaboration on Luxuriant Dew), there is a paragraph that states that a tea bowl stand appears in the Tang dynasty when “the daughter of Cui Ning drank tea, she was often disgusted by the hot tea bowl which scorched her fingers. She took a plate and melted wax in it,” (K.S. Lo 15) placing the tea bowl into the melted wax. The simple expedient of fitting the tea bowl into the wax not only allowed the holding of the tea bowl without burning the drinker’s fingers, but also stabilized the tea bowl preventing spillage. It followed soon after, that lacquer bowl holders were made and a new tea implement was born (Ukers II: 447). It wasn’t long before these bowl holders were reproduced in clay and became a part of the design of the tea bowl.
The bowl holders are the forerunners of the teacup handle and saucer if viewed from this perspective. The Chinese developed the bowl holder in lacquer ware, they put a ring on the bottom of the tea bowl and once this was accomplished it wasn’t long before many different styles of holders came into being. The variety is endless and we see it as early as 960 A.D. in the various Ting Yao porcelain cup stands from the Song dynasty. There were Ru ware bowl stands from the Northern Song dynasty, Yongle cup stands with white glazes, Yingqing porcelain cups with stands and many more than can be included here. It is an easy step from this cup stand to the handle and saucer. We see saucers, as well as handles on teacups, as part of the tea ware the Chinese reproduced for export.
Handleless cups in English tea cup designs were evidence of the desire of the English to emulate the tea bowls of the Chinese. Chamberlain’s factory at Worcester made a porcelain tea set around 1795-1800 where none of the cups had handles but the saucers were reminiscent of small bowls with cup rings in the center to hold the cup steady. There is a an account offered about the idea of tea being drunk from a dish or saucer in Robin Emerson’s British Teapots and Tea Drinking which says:
The saucer seems to have perplexed our ancestors at the time of its first introduction; its first use was believed to be merely to cool the tea, and then it was unfashionable to drink from the cup; at a later time the use of the saucer was understood to be confined to saving slops, and thence forward the cup alone was to have the honour of being raised to the lips (19).
Regardless of the developments, we can deduce that the adoption of tea by the Chinese was an outside influence changed to fit their own society. Likewise we see the exportation of tea to England adopted from an outside influence. Both societies developed tea “ceremonies” to ritualize the drinking of this beverage and because of its beneficial nature, tea became more than just a medicinal concoction. Although each society viewed the taking of tea differently, and the initial motivations were at opposite ends of the scales, both had high regard for the beverage and the vessels used. Similarly, in the very early stages the high cost of the tea plant gave access to only the very elite and wealthy.
China mass produced tea for all her society and as the prices fell, the lower classes benefited. However, in England, the nobility and wealthy were highly agitated over the fact that the lower classes could have access to something they regarded as theirs alone. The decrease in price brought about a major change in how the English viewed what became their national beverage. Not surprising their societal infrastructure also changed and followed in the footsteps of the Chinese…open to all their people.
The English went a step farther by developing their own tea plantations in British India, Java, Sumatra and Ceylon and with the enterprising opportunities being seized by their ceramists, the exportation prices of tea and tea ware dropped, as mass production and new ceramic materials were developed.
As the English took this tea issue to a different level, strictures regarding women taking tea in public changed when industrious individuals opened new types of establishments such as “Tea Gardens” and the strict codes changed. As did the character of the tea ceremony. Britain developed afternoon tea and a different social activity sprang up around this.
In reviewing the styles, shapes and decorations on the variety of tea ware it is obvious that when mass produced the ware underwent a dramatic change and was no longer the high quality of the earlier, individually made pieces. This is not surprising as it occurs in all areas that go into mass production. We can even see it in the blends of the teas that came about when the various British exporters attempted to create a tea that would be lower in cost to the black and green teas of China but maintain the quality of the leaf. This took time and eventually, although a very good blend of teas emerged, they could not compare to the original teas exported from China.
The English, however, were able to improve on their own ceramic industry, especially after porcelain was discovered in Germany. We can see an improvement in their ware over time. There will always be those pieces unique and wonderfully crafted, as well as the mass produced ware, and these will always be in high demand among those who cherish fine ceramics no matter the form. We still see evidences of fine craftsmanship coming from China but not of the quality of those very early beautiful ceramics that held the world in awe. Much of this change is probably due to the change in the economic, political and social atmosphere within the country over the years.