Tuesday, September 6, 2011

"PAINTING SUNSETS"..TEACUP TUESDAY

" Red sky at night , Sailors delight, Red Sky in morning. Sailors take warning " ... 

Five  minutes to sundown ... I just had to capture the beauty of the evening. It was a Pandora's box type of sky, that transported the heart and soul into the imaginative  realm of childhood...  How well I remembered, painting the skyscapes on the  murals in my Grade 3 classroom... What fun !!!!


 For sure, I wasn't the only budding, young artist that had ever attempted to recreate the glory of a sunset with crayolas or tempra paints ...The Japanese have been scribing and duplicating the delicate balance of nature on their porcelain and ceramics for centuries...

Often, hidden in the dustiest corners of the old curiosity shops, are these handpainted artisan cups and saucers from Japan, or they may even  be from  China ... I'm not sure of their origin, since there are no marking ...which may mean  that it is  pre-1900's.  I was once told that, as a  general rule,  " the older  and more genuine the item, the less chance it has of being marked."

 

Meito china is a popular  Japanese brand, that was founded in 1908, by former Noritake engineer Kotero Asuki... although most of the china bears the backstamp Meito, many decorative handpainted pieces, such as my cups, have been traced to either a pre-dated time prior to  the ' Occupied Japan ' era or to the forefathers of this company.

I'm not an art dealer, nor am I overly concerned with the identifying marks of the porcelain. To me, "the beauty is in the eye of the beholder", and I admire ceramics that have, what we sometimes call.
 " the artists' touch "!!!



One can only imagine the artisan choosing the color palette for this porcelain .... surely he/she was influenced by mother nature.  I often feel that these cups and saucers bring purpose of existence into the teacup world. I think of them as not merely vessels of sipping but as  instruments of bonding one world to another or one tea lover to another.

While the artists' vision is a more subdued orange, than my pink sunset, it still maintains a reverent passage and compatible scope of sharing... It is a gift of time passing !!!

I love the gentle sweeps of the paint brushes on this saucer ... I love the feel of the cup in my hand and I love, how the light filters through the fine, translucent  porcelain.


These little cups are not perfectly symmetrical and the artwork varies according to the brush stroke of their creator . Certainly, this set is not a collectors' dream, as they are not opulent nor grand. I call them my little country bumpkins!!! ( Ha ha) 

Yes... When the sun begins to go down on a warm autumn night, they are the  friendly little cups that share the  comfort of teatime, nestling me quite nicely into the last chapter of Jane Austens', "Pride and Prejudice".   Don't you just love that " Mr. Darcy "!!!!

41 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wonderful post, today - so informative and beautiful! And, to end with a nod to Jane and Mr. Darcy - well, you have totally captured my heart!

Your connection between the sunset photo and the sunset color palette and brush wash of your teacups is brilliant! I will give more attention to such details when I come across them in thrift shops. Come to think of it - I passed up a couple like this only last week! Wonder, if I went there this week if they'd still be there - and are they marked!

Thanks for posting - catching you between classes!

Joy!
Miss Kathy

Snap said...

Wonderful post. It is in the eye of the beholder. Good thing we all don't like the same things ... how dull that would be! I love this tea cup ... sunsets, tea and mr. darcy ... YES! Happy Tea Day!

Zaa said...

I always enjoy your company Miss Kathy and look forward to reading your teacup adventures....Hugs

Zaa said...

Ha Ha Snap... I do think everyone loves Mr Darcy especially if he looks Colin Firth ... I'm so glad you stopped over for a wee spot of tea ..Please do come again...

Marie said...

What a nice post! I love how you found pretty images to match your pretty teacup. And yes, I do love that Mr. Darcy...is there a real Mr. Darcy out there??? Send him my way, will you please ;-)
-Marie

Sandi@ Rose Chintz Cottage said...

Hello Laa,
Your post captured my attention immediately with that sky. I do believe beauty is in the eye of the beholder and what a boring world it would be if we were all made the same. The teacups are so pretty and I enjoyed your beautiful images and sentiments. Love Jane Austen and her Mr. Darcy too! Thanks for sharing this with Tea Time.

Blessings,
Sandi

Sandi@ Rose Chintz Cottage said...

Sorry, I hit the L instead of the Z in your name.

The Sage Butterfly said...

Beautiful photo! And it is amazing how it mimics the scene in the china. The images stir up a wish for a simpler time.

Zaa said...

Ha Ha Marie... I 'll certainly be on the look out for a Mr. Darcy for you ... Thanks for the kind visit..HUGS

Zaa said...

Hey Sandy ... I always appreciate your sweet visits... Enjoy your week, Dear lady ...Hugs

Zaa said...

Thanks Sage Butterfly ...I'm so glad you took the time to flutter in for a teatime chat....xoxox

Wanda Lee said...

Dear Zaa,

What a lovely post and sunset motif teacup..,
What a delightfully pretty teacup!..,Such lovely colors as well; beautiful!

Many thanks for joining me for the celebration of my 100th, Tuesday Tea For Two', as well as for our 71st, 'Teapot And Tea Things Tuesday'. Two'.

Cheers and hugs from Wanda Lee

Zaa said...

You are so welcome Wanda Lee... What a grand celebration for you...CHEERS !!!

Sandra Foster said...

Peach and blue - nature's designed color scheme. Lovely pictures my friend! Sandra

♥ Miss Tea said...

oh wow, what a beautiful sky matches with beautiful teacups! gorgeous color, indeed it looks like pandora box! beautiful!

susan

Deanna Rabe - Creekside Cottage Blog said...

What beautiful teacups and sky!

I don't think they are 'country bumpkins' - I think they are treasure. Hand painted sunset....so lovely.

Thanks for sharing and for your comment at my blog.

Deanna

Terri said...

A lovely tea cup post! Your two cups are little works of art. I have one similar to it, and it only says "Japan" on the bottom in red. It has a sweet scene on it and is paper thin.
Your sunset photo is gorgeous, it must have been a sight to behold and lift the heart!
Hugs,
Terri

Unknown said...

this is a great post w/ lovely photos and the sunset is amazing...thank you for sharing this loveliness!!

Zaa said...

Dear Sandra ..Thank you for the teatime visit, my Friend...I'm coming over to see you now ...Hugs

Zaa said...

Thank You Miss Tea... I always love the many visits ... especially since we all share teatime blogs... What fun I'm having !!! Please do come again ...Hugs

Zaa said...

Deanna ..It was such a pleasure to visit your lovely blog...and get to know just a little more about you and your teatime specialties...Thanks for you sweet visit.... Hugs

Zaa said...

Thanks Terri ... Yes the sky was amazing ..I'm glad that you got a photo experience of it... I so appreciate you taking the time to meander by for a teatime chat... I'm truly enjoying your Teacup Tuesday posts... xoxox

Zaa said...

Hey Trish ... My mouth is still watering from reading your yummy blog... can't wait to t try some of those recipes... mmmm-good !!!! Hugs to you Sweet Lady !!!

Maria Andrade said...

Hello Zaa,
What a beautiful and poetic post!
Your tea cups are very pretty and I think they would please any collector, with that handpainted landscape in Japanese style...
Hugs

Cindy @ Dwellings-The Heart of Your Home said...

Beautiful sunset photography and your tea cups are so pretty!
Blessings,
Cindy

Zaa said...

Thanks Maria... I appreciate your kind comments , especially since you have such exquisite taste in china... Hugs

Zaa said...

So nice to see you here Cindy...Please do enjoy a cup of Jasmine tea with me ... Cheers

Bella's Rose Cottage said...

Hi Zaa,
What a lovely tea post! The cups are deightful, the loving strokes of hand painted china is a treasure! and a matching sunset, such beautiful detail! Thanks for sharing your tea, I have enjoyed my visit!
Hugs,
Bella

Micupoftea said...

How interesting! I love that you included the photos of the sunset...clever thing! Enjoy this last bit of summer & happy teatimes,
shawn
p.s. thanks for visiting my blog~

Johanna Gehrlein said...

Hello Zaa,
your sundown photos are so beautiful. I saw a lot of nice sundowns but never got such beautiful pictures of them. The artist of your tea cups catched the sundown masterly.I love the artist skills of the Japanese. All is not opulent but very dainty and with a lot of empathy. So your cups are really interesting and how wonderful, that you have a set of two. Thank you so much for your kind comment, I always enjoy your visits.
Best greetings, Johanna

Zaa said...

You're so welcome Bella...Please do visit for tea again...Hugs

Zaa said...

Thanks Shawn... Yes, I drinking in all the teatime afternoons of summer...Your visit is so appreciated....Cheers.

Zaa said...

Hey Johanna .. I so happy to have you for a special teatime chat.. Next time I'll try to bake something special for you. my Friend... Hugs

victorian parlor II said...

How beautiful!!!

Blessings,

Kim

Sanghamitra Bhattacherjee(Mukherjee) said...

How beautiful! Gorgeous shots. Thanks for sharing.
Hope to see you on my blog:)

Karen :) said...

So glorious! Love this!

Zaa said...

It's always lovely to hear from you Kim ...Thanks for the kind visit, Sweet lady .

Zaa said...

Thanks Sanghamitra... I 'm so happy that you stopped over for a chat at teatime... I'm on my way to visit you..WELCOME.

Zaa said...

Sweet visits Karen... I do.. enjoy your visits here.... and I get very inspired visiting your blog... Take care, my Friend. ...CHEERS

Lady Linda said...

I adore your recent post! The pictures are incredible and everything just blends together and paints a wonderful picture.
Love, Linda

Jilly said...

Your connection between the sunset photo and the sunset color palette and brush wash of your teacups is brilliant! Your are great artist as well as I saw a lot of nice sundowns but never got such beautiful pictures.
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