Mad Monday - mad about tea bowls

I'm a bit mad about tea bowls!
I love the aesthetic of tea bowls.

tea bowls from touching stone

Something about the tactile experience of holding a miniature work of art, an artisan created object.
Maybe the history and culture of the japanese tea ceremony comes through as you sip.

The japanese name for tea bowl is chawan 茶碗 and there are many varieties depending on where they were made, shape colour etc.

copper glazed porcelain by BrucesArtStudio

Tea has been drunk in Japan since the 8th or 9th century, having been introduced from China.



Tea was used as a medicine and as a ritual drink. Over the centuries the highly ritualised japanese tea ceremony evolved.
But it was Sasaki Chojiro (1516-92) who popularised the raku form of the tea bowl.

tea bowl by Ogata Kenzan (1663- 1743)

Tea bowls can be formed out of any clay from fine porcelain to the rough earthy earthenware.

kyoto ware

Crimson Shino Tea Bowl 1985) by Kato Tokur

I love the texture of the rough lumpy ones.

raven tea bowl for Owen by Richard Selfridge

I believe this is the aesthetic of wabi sabi - which can be described as the finding of beauty in the impermanence and imperfection of things.


Here are some of my favoite tea bowls made by the craftspeople of etsy -

blushing tea bowl by dbabcock

olive green and orange shino tea bowl by rmoralespottery

cup by khphillips

set of two tea bowls by PotterybyJolene

tea ceremony bowl by TakakiHouse

chawan japanese style tea bowl by ArttoHold

tea bowl by littlebclayworks

shino chawan tea bowl by ralphnuara

three cups of tea charity tea bowl by PrimativePots

For more information about the tea cermony go to wikwipedia or another informative article is here.