Description
Arita-yaki "Mizutama" (Water Drop, or polka dot) pattern Porcelain Kyusu and 2 Cups; Tea Pot 300cc/10.1oz., Tea Cups 170cc/5.75oz each. Tea Pot: H.3.625"(9.25cm) x W.6.5"(16.5cm). 347 grams. Tea Pot has ceramic mesh strainer built-in, but also includes a stainless steel basket strainer for optional use. Cups: H.2.375"(6cm) x Dia.3"(7.75cm), 133 grams each.
The Mizutama pattern on this tea set is a vintage pattern that was very popular in the mid-20th Century. Often seen in casual diners and restaurants, as well as in homes. It's recreated here with a slightly more elegant downward tapered shape to the tea pot and a slightly inward leaning lip to the tea cups. The white Arita porcelain makes it perfect for enjoying the color of any tea, and the easily washable surface also makes it ideal for infusing a wide variety of teas, including flavored teas, without affecting how lingering aromas can alter future tea infusions (as with unglazed pottery tea pots).
Arita porcelain wares have been a standard in Japan since the 16th Century, including as an export product shipped to Europe from the Port of Imari in the 17th and 18th Centuries. Arita was best known for the blue and white wares using underglaze cobalt decoration, as well as overglaze enamel decorated items. The town of Arita, in current-day Saga Prefecture, is still a hub of ceramic manufacturing today producing many of the same styles of centuries past, along with a wide variety of contemporary designs for everyday tableware.