Storia delle cose,Marrakech,Morocco: #12Materiali della cosa

Teapot material based taxonomy

The evolution of teapots material follows the same patterns than the one of the shapes already emphasised in the previous section'' la tassonomia della cosa''.

Early teapots from China were ''Yixing teapots'' (purple and pot), the problem however was that the clay (the only insulation material used at the time), interfered with the taste of tea. To address these issues, the evolution of tea preparation led to the mineral composition of the ''Zisha''(purple sand) clay whose porous nature was reputed to retain the tea's flavour making every brew better with repeated use.

Yixing teapot

Teapots step out from China to Japan and then to Europe. In the XVI century, Japan used Raku, while China found porcelain and the competition between the two countries led to techniques such as paper pressing, blue under-glaze ,gold and silver inlay.

Blue under glaze teapot

At the end of the XVII century, porcelain teapots were brought to Europe from China and accompanied the popular drink in Europe. Later on , in the XVIII, Germany invented a fine stoneware to create the first teapots. Subsequently and as far as art was concerned, designers used plethora of materials such as precious stones silver and gold inlay to turn the teapot into a fashion object.

In the XIX century , in addition to their first function , teapots were a symbol of wealth and social status and this brought the British society to use silver teapots .Furthermore,the Industrial revolution knew the emergence of new techniques like silver and gold plating.

Silver teapot

Nowadays, stainless steel and cast iron teapots have gained popularity and are used to serve tea in cafes and restaurants. The inside of cast iron teapots is coted with enamel to prevent it from being rusted.