Monday, January 23, 2012

" THE SCENT OF ROSES "



" There should be beds of Roses.
banks of Roses, bowers of Roses,
hedges of Roses, edgings of Roses,
pillars of Roses, arches of Roses,
fountains of Roses, baskets of Roses,
vistas and alleys of Roses."

It's so delightful to participate in the " Tea Time Tuesday " Birthday festivities with Sandi at Rose Chintz Cottage ... especially since the theme is " Roses " ... How excited I am to share three of my childhood teatime treasures with you today.... beginning with my beautiful " Black Beauty " teapot and coffee pot from Germany( above).

I've been collecting this particular set since early childhood .It has a black matte finish with a single hand painted pink rose contrasted with gleaming gold trims. Perhaps rose painted teapots should be filled with rose tea.

Oh yes..Let's make a pot of Garden Fairy Rose tea ... but sh-h-h-h don't tell the fairies that I'm sharing their recipe with you ... So .... how do Garden fairies make rose tea ?

It's easy .... A freshly made tea of dried rose petals is a pleasant cooling drink on warm summer days.... All you have to do is collect petals to be dried before the blossom unfolds.Use 2 heaping teaspoons per cup of boiling water and sip away on your day dreams !!!

I have included some rose pictures that I snapped at the Samurai Gardens in Japan ... Hubby and I took five hundred plus photos of roses... Can You imagine !!!! ha ha .. I quess we love roses.
..This is the teacup and saucer that spurred my love of collecting teacups ... brought all the way from Scotland . It belonged to my grandmother Susanna Mitchell, and was passed onto my mother as a wedding gift when she travelled to Canada as a War Bride. A few delicate pieces were damaged and broken on the overseas journey in the convoy ship ... but I feel thankful that five cups and saucers, a large cream and sugar and eight dainty side dishes survived ... I call them my five graces.. after my eighty year old mother, "Grace, who serviced in both the British and Canadian Airforce during the second world war.


It's a precocious little number that demands attention ... because of the bold contrast of the red,white and black . If china could talk ... oh my goodness what stories it would tell me ( ha ha) . I love it !

The markings are small and I'm supposing that it's called " Old Royal" as you can see there is not alot of information on the back.

The pottery is a very fine, light porcelain that is delightful to touch and drink from.

Here I am sneaking in another gorgeous old world rose from the Samurai Gardens in Japan. This delicate blossom possessed such an intoxicating scent that I couldn't stop inhaling ... It was truly euphoric !!!!
Another pretty cup that I bought on ebay is this old chintz pattern, Rosalynde made by James Kent Ltd, in England.,circa 1920+. It bears my namesake , only an older medieval spelling. The name, Rosalynde, Roslin, Roslind, means " surrounded by roses ". I do believe it is the perfect pattern for the " Rose Chintz Cottage" Birthday party... Don't You !!!

See how prettily the cup sits within the fluted saucer, just like a nosegay of flowers on the table.
Chintz is a highly collectible item, most often purchased by dedicated collectors. The pieces are usually marked on the bottom with the manufacturer and pattern names.

One set is marked with the number one and the other a number seven ... I'm not sure what these marking symbolize ... possibly the run or colour code.

The cup and sauces vary in shape, size and design. You can see that one is a little bigger than the other... Which one do you like best?

I'm a bit of a curious cat and started to wondered why we all have this widespread fascination with 'roses' !!!! ... So I read up on it with Carl G. Jung's book " Man and His Symbols ". According to the learned doctor, the circle created by the roses petals is symbolic of " Self " .

No doubt you have noticed the variety of abstract circle figures in Zen paintings and abstract mandalas that appear in a lot of European artworks ... A splendid example are the rose windows of cathedrals. ... The Roses are apparently representations of the " Self" of man transposed onto a cosmic plane .... Hmmmm .... those are pretty deep rose petals ...Today, I think I'll stick to simple gardening .( Ha Ha)

My last little beauty is a Royal Albert cup and saucer .. again, there is no name on the bottom. Due to her dramatic appearance... I called this tea set" The Diva".
She's a hoity toity little lady that I'd love to sip from, after the opera... perhaps 'Der Rosenkavalier' ( The Rose bearer or Cavalier of the Rose ). I think that the saucer is prettier than the cup with all the outer frilling ...Tra-La-La-La-La ...It really does have a musical edge!!!

There are hundreds of tea sipping songs that come to mind... My Wild Irish Rose, The Last Rose of Summer, Paper Roses, Rose Marie, I Never Promised you a Rose Garden, to name a few... So what tune do you hum or sing while brewing your morning tea?

Lately , I've busy mixing and creating new teatime adventures .... and noticed that, teas composed of garden grown herbs and flowers are gaining popularity . Notably, they soothe without sedating and refresh without the nerve jangling effects of drinks with caffeine.

A little experimental brewing and sipping in life is always fun . Can you imagine a special blend or two of your own making. How fabulous would your own teatime brew be !!!! ....

2012 has brought the explorer out in me . I have a a huge desire to move in new directions and that includes making my own tea ( Ha Ha) Would you care to join me ?



Goodness enough partying Ladies ... It's time for me to read your blogs, I can hardly wait ... Sandi, Thank You for sharing your enlightening visions of "Tea Time Tuesday " Anniversary with us all ... " She who must have beautiful roses in her garden must have beautiful roses in her heart"... Big Hugs to you.

I leave you now with a few rose facts to ponder .... Did you know that no two roses smell exactly alike... Did you know that roses love garlic ... Did you know that Cleopatra entertained Anthony in knee- deep roses ... Did you know that one hundred and fifty people can be seated under the world's largest rose tree, sipping their tea .

Did you know that I'm wishing you all a " ROSY day !!!!

29 comments:

Snap said...

What a fun and interesting post. All your cups are lovely. You've gone from roses, to gardening, to Jung, to opera! Fun!!! Happy Tea Day!

Terri said...

Love your interesting post! All your china is gorgeous, and I was delighted that you shared the cup that started your collection! It is a dramatic beauty! I haven't seen one like that before and it is a fabulous cup to fall in love with!
Hugs,
Terri

Zaa said...

Ha Ha Snap...Roses just make me wild... Thanks for the kind visit...Hugs

Zaa said...

Thanks Terri..I do believe we're all in love with roses... I love a little drama in my morning teacup>>.Xoxox

Sandi@ Rose Chintz Cottage said...

Hello Zaa,
I am simply swooning over your lovely roses! The teacup which started your collection is stunning; a real beauty! Very dramtic and quite handsome too. Of course, I always love to see chintz! I like both teacups but the one with the pedestal is especially pretty.
You always present us with a post filled with interesting facts and entertainment. Love it! Thank you so much for joining my Birthday Tea Party and making it all the more special.

Blessings to you,
Sandi

Bookie said...

All your cups are pretty but the black one with a pink rose is outstanding. I would love to have a black cup such as this one! Thanks for sharing...

Zaa said...

Happy Birthday to Rose Chintz Cottage Sandi .. I hope you have enjoyed your blog celebrations. Thank You for so kindly inviting us all to you party, Sweet Lady... Hugs

Zaa said...

Thanks Bookie ... I've been reading the tea leaves and see that there is a beautiful black cup in your future( ha Ha)..Thanks for the sweet visit... Please do come again soon...Hugs

Judith @ Lavender Cottage said...

Your rose photos are lovely and I really like the pink and blue chintz. I'm going to have to find myself a chintz teacup some time, there was a yellow pattern long ago that would be a treat to find.
Judith

Zaa said...

Thanks Judith .. I was just reading that the " Rosalynde" china pattern is going to be revamped in the yellow pattern..so there will probably be some lovely sunshine yellow chintz china circulating...Thanks for your kind visit....Hugs

Ruth...Time Was Antiques said...

Your china is so pretty! Black matte is very hard to find. The Old Royal mark denotes the maker's name, which was made by Sampson Smith, Ltd. and was made between 1945-1963 when the pottery closed. I love the James Kent chintzes. That is so pretty! How nice to have such a special collection with family roots!
Eurh

Johanna Gehrlein said...

Hi Zaa,
what a surprise to see your black rose teapots from Germany. Did you know that I own some pieces of that type? I made a blogpost once with those pattern:
http://silber-rosen.blogspot.com/2011/06/noble-tea-time-at-castle-noble-teezeit.html
All your black beauties are really amazing. Last time I saw a tea set from Royal Albert Masquerade and I loved it for its dramatic decoration. Yours would match to it beautifully. And your rose photos are wonderful. Thank you so much for sharing this rosy delight.
Best greetings, Johanna

hong kong property said...

The Diva looks really nice!:D

Hong Kong property

Tea in Texas said...

Georgeous .... the china and the great photos! Thanks for giving us a history of the Old Royal set and how it came across the Atlantic with your Mother. She must be a wonderful woman. The German set with the black mat finish and the lovely roses is dramatic. Thanks again, Happy Tea Party! Pam

Zaa said...

Well Hong kong property ...You look really nice too.. thanks for the visit ... Please do come again and spend a little more time...Hugs

Maria Andrade said...

Hi Zaa,
Your rose cups are gorgeous and I loved reading the text and knowing about the family history.
That Old Royal set is outstanding but everything here is so delightful that one doen't know exactly where to start: the rose photos, the German set(I've got a dish and a small box like that), the J. Kent chintz cups...
Thanks for this inspiring post.
Hugs

Anonymous said...

I love love love your Diva Tea Set. So pretty.
The Chintz is so wonderful too. Happy tea Day... Pat

Sanghamitra Bhattacherjee(Mukherjee) said...

This is beautiful! Thanks for sharing. Love your space.
Hope to see you on my blog:)

Zaa said...

Thank You Ruth ... I'm so happy to learn a little more about my Old Royal set .. Your expertise is so very much appreciated... Hugs

Zaa said...

Dear Johanna ... Thanks for your exciting visit...I'm very eager to visit your blog to see the dishes... and learn more about their history... Big Hugs

Zaa said...

Hi Pam .. I'm so happy that you stopped by for a teatime chat... Please do come again soon...Blessings

Zaa said...

Thanks Marie... Yes ..I celebrated Sandi's Anniversary with many roses...So glad that you enjoyed the party...Hugs

Zaa said...

Thank You Pat... The " Diva" cup is waiting for you at you for a teatime chat ... anytime... So glad that you stopped by ... Bright Blessings

Anonymous said...

You made such a beautiful combination of words, sauces and roses for this post.
Thank you for sharing so much love and beauty.
♥☼

Zaa said...

Dear Sol..You have brought in the sunshine with your visit....I'm so happy when you sit and chat for awhile her at the" Grand Lady ".... Hugs

Lady Linda said...

I do believe the rose theme is one of the best! It has brought forth the most beautiful tea cups and rose photos. I miss my roses and my flowers. Thanks for your lovely post.
Linda

Zaa said...

Yes Linda... The 'Rose" theme has made all our hearts flutter and wish for SPRING...only 2 more months to go, M'Lady...Hugs

Rose Garden Malevik said...

GREAT POST :)
and do not miss......

S
A
T
U
R
D
A
Y

S
H
O
W

O
F
F

It is FUN :)
WELCOME
HÃ¥kan ( The Roseman)

Zaa said...

Thank You for the kind visit... Please do come again