The Nexus Between Tea and Pottery

In the past, whether it is in Japanese or Chinese culture, tea pottery is an integral part of tea culture in Japan or China. Beside the meticulous choosing of pottery for holding and pouring tea, one also admires other porcelain like vases to soak in the atmosphere of the ancient Chinese and Japanese literati.

It is the intention of our website to also integrate the culture of pottery to tea culture in order to provide our readers with a more comprehensive understanding of Chinese and Japanese pottery and the selection of tea wares in the process of drinking tea.

We also welcome all feedback, suggestions, questions about Japanese or Chinese tea pottery. We have admidst our panel, people who are studying pottery and the origins and different styles of Japanese and Chinese pottery. We also provide authentication services for different types of pottery as well as welcoming all forms of research on pottery or tea culture to be posted on our website for the benefit of many readers in Asia, Europe, Americas and other parts of the world.

In addition, we will endeavour to scour the pottery markets of Japan, Malaysia and China to select some of the good quality wares for sale on the internet so that those who surf our website may buy them at affordable prices. That is our commitment.





Tea pot category

The two main types of earthernware tea pots from China are:
- red clay from TeoChew
- Yixing purple clay

There are also many types of porcelain teapots from China.
The main types are Jingdezhen porcelain.

These are the main export regions:
- Liling region
- Henan region
- Swatow region
- Shiwan ceramics

Find out how to choose Chinese teapots.





Arita Pottery

As part of our series of introduction to Chinese and Japanese tea and pottery culture, we would like to introduce readers to one of the most famous pottery regions in Japan. The Arita kilns are located in an area in the western part of Kyushu. This area is famous for its porcelain and had derived its own indignenous styles from the adaptations of Chinese and Korean pottery since 1610.

In the past, Arita had produced porcelain known under different names such as Nabeshima, Imari and Kakiemon. Arita wares have been extensively traded in Southeast Asia and has a long history here. During times when Chinese porcelain demand was not met in the past due to various reasons such as wars in China or accelerated demand in Europe, Arita kilns would come in to fill in the demands.

We are proud to present an exclusive range of porcelain of extreme high quality, fired by a top porcelain artist in our galleries. We hope that you enjoy appreciating their beauty and also the skilfulness of the grandmaster. If you are interested in purchasing such pieces please place your order with our website. Visit our Arita Pottery gallery.





TeoChew teapots

Eastern Tea is proud to bring you high quality TeoChew teapots used by Chinese all over the world for tea-drinking. These tea pots are made in the Teo Chew region of China. TeoChew is spelt ChaoZhou in Hanyu Pinyin. They are made of red clay which make them excellent for drinking Chinese tea. Yet they are affordable as unlike the purple clay teapots in the Central part of China, worksmanship is simple and labour is cheaper. They also make excellent display items for lovers of Chinese tea sets. Chao Zhou teapot is made in such way that it is ergonmic and easy to handle. They are also light and perfect for gifts as they have a strong oriental flavour.

The correct way to hold a Teo Chew teapot is by clasping the handle with the middle and first fingers while the second finger is used to push down the cover of the teapot. In this position, you are able to pour tea to serve your guests.

Eastern Tea is offering such teapots at an affordable price of only US$15 (including mailing). Please allow one to two weeks of delivery time. Eastern tea would like to warn surfers of imitation goods which are dyed red tea pots, made in Taiwan or Thailand.

Please refer to the photos for our 'Main Sales Pottery Item'.





Purple clay tea pots

Purple clay tea pots are also known as Yixing tea pots. These tea pots are made in central China. They have been used since Qing dynasty (1644-1911).

The reason why these pots are used is because the purple that is used to make these earthernware are said to possess special properties that enable the scent and the taste of the tea to be infused into the chambers of the pot.

These wares are carved from blocks of clay, adding on to the technical difficulties in making these pots. They come in all shapes and sizes and collectors' pots can fetch very high prices, including the used ones.





As part of our series of promoting tea arts and ceramics culture, we will bringing the beautiful works of art from Asian artists for all to admire and see. If interested, please contact us via our website's e-mail for more information on purchase.

We are pleased to have the exclusive rights to a most skilful and well known artist in Singapore, Mr Peter Low. Visit his gallery. Below is his personal history:

Name: Peter Low

Birthdate: 1943 - Malaysia

Art Education

1967 - 1969 Graduated from Nanyang Academy of Fine arts Singapore Studied Western art (oil painting) and Chinese painting

1970-1973 Graduated from the West Surrey College of arts and design England

1974-1977 Established Black Water pottery in Malaysia

1978-1981 - Established Pottery Craft Shop in Singapore

1982-1983 Travelled and researched in Japan, Taiwan , New Zealand and Australia

1984-1993 - Taught in Tappei Hsieh Ho Polytechnic Vocational School National Cheng Hwa University Taiwan

1994 - Taught at Singapore Nanyang Academy of Fine arts, ceramics department

1995 - Established Min Yue Ceramics workshop, Johore Malaysia

Solo Exhibitions

1971-1993 - Two Exhibitions in Malaysia
- Six exhibitions in Singapore
- 1 exhibition in Manila
- 1 in New Zealand
- 10 in Taipei
- 1 in Singapore

Group Exhibitions

1992 - Artifacts of Taiwan - Innovation from Tradition

1993 - Taipei International Exhibitions of Tradition art and Crafts

Ceramics Works exhibited in the First International Ceramics Show Taipei (Tai Pei National Art Gallery) Taiwan Chinese
Contemporary Ceramics Exhibition in USA
The Thrid Taiwan Annual art exhibition at the National Palace Museum, Tai pei

1996 - Claytivity 96 at Goethe Gallery Singapore
Fine art and ceramics exhibition Mandarin Hotel Singapore

1997 - Ceramics Group Show Potter Lover Gallery Taipei Taiwan
Ceramics Group Show GengShan Ceramics Gallery Gao Xiong Taiwan

1998 - Ceramics Group Show Alliance Francaise Singapore