Tea Time

I bought this ceramic tea set at an estate sale for a price so reasonable that I wasn't concerned if the kids were to break it, and it turns out the magic of pouring imaginary tea is a constant across generations. As far back as the 1500s, the Dutch were making Delft earthenware (a soft, easily chipped ware). Then, in 1602, the Dutch East India Company was founded, bringing Chinese tea—and porcelain, to European shores. With tea being pretty much an instant hit, the first tea sets designed for children came out of Germany as early as 1687. Finally, a mathematician and alchemist team hit upon the formula for porcelain, and the Meissen factory opened near Dresden in 1710 (Malone 1976). Unsurprisingly, much of their ware imitated Chinese motifs. The one that I purchased came from Colonial Williamsburg and so has those rather than more traditional themes, but is just as popular in my home as in American homes 300 yearas ago.