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Blog / Fine Ceramics

How to throw the best tea party ever? Invite a Hyena!

If you want your guests to "tell the story" about the best tea party they ever attended, invite a Hyena to your table.

We've long been fans of Alice in Wonderland and all the fantastical teapots and cups that made their way to The Mad Hatter's Tea Party, so it wasn't a stretch for us to whoop with delight when we spied this.

 

Hand crafted with remarkable skill in The Ardmore Ceramics Studio, this Hyena is an heirloom quality piece that will be in your family for generations to come.
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THE ARTISAN

We think the painter of this bespoke ceramic teapot, Fiko Mfphusi has an astounding eye for colour and detail. Since 2002, Fiko has worked on a variety of Ardmore Ceramics, being mentored by Punch Shabalala (a leading Ardmore painter), whose footsteps Fiko aspires to follow. Fiko's work has been shown in every Ardmore exhibition since 2004. And again, what a family affair?! Fiko is one of three sisters who work together in the painting studio! We think Fiko's
painting is a beautiful contribution to this lovely piece.
 

MADE BY HAND

Often inspired by wildlife, Ardmore Ceramics have been exhibited in leading galleries and collections around the world, including The Museum of Art & Design in New York and The Museum of Cultures in Basel (Switzerland). Ardmore's modern art style breaks ceramic conventions, using techniques resulting from years of experimentation with materials and processes. The vibrant colours and enormous attention to detail are simply superb. If you are an aficionado of ceramics or of unique artworks, take the time to explore our Ardmore Collection. We guarantee it will produce a smile! Learn more about Ardmore Ceramics and their talented artisans - watch this short video.
Ardmore Ceramics have been featured in a wide variety of publications including House & Leisure, Garden & Home, Condé Nast House & Garden, Living, Art Times, Country Life, Sunday Times Style, Elle Decor, Oprah's O and Wallpaper Magazine (just to name a few).

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AFRICAN HYENAS 

Sadly depicted as scavengers, hyenas are actually skillful hunters. Hyenas are widespread and found in most habitats. Spotted hyenas are found in all habitats, including savannas, grasslands, woodlands, forest edges, subdeserts, and even mountains up to 13,000 ft. As human populations expand and growth of agriculture, settlements, and roads results, wildlife is losing space in which it was previously able to roam freely.

 

Hyena's traditionally get a bad rap! Visit Mental Floss to learn. 

12 Wild Facts About Hyenas
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T is for Teapot - A Brief (but Fascinating) History

Giraffe Teapot

Teapots were invented back in the Yuan Dynasty (in China). The design likely progressed gradually from ceramic kettles and wine pots made of metals. Prior to that, only cauldrons were used to boil tea which was then served in bowls.

By the Ming Dynasty, use of the teapot was widespread in China.

Early teapots were small in comparison to what we use today, as they were usually designed for a single tea drinker. Believe it or not, once the tea was brewed, they usually drank it straight from the teapot spout! If I'd done that as a child, my grandmother would have clipped my ear! Different strokes for different folks, indeed.

They might have actually been onto something, as single portions of tea are easier to control with regard to flavour and are easier to repeat consistently.

From the 17th century onward, tea was shipped from China to Europe, along with exotic spices and other luxuries. Porcelain teapots, often painted in the familiar blue and white we associate with many Chinese ceramics, were also shipped out.

Here's a fun fact! Because porcelain is completely vitrified, it can stand subjection to seawater without harm. Therefore, the teapots could be stowed below deck. The tea, however, had to be stowed above deck in order to remain dry.

At first, tea drinkers in Europe were of the upper class

At that time, porcelain couldn't be made in Europe. So tea and teapots were fairly expensive, limiting consumption to those who could readily afford it. It wasn't until 1708 that Ehrenfriend Walther von Tschirnaus figured out how to make porcelain and started the Meissen Factory (in Dresden) in 1710.

In the Americas, Boston was a centre for silver craftsmanship. We're sure you've heard of the Revere family, whose works of art included teapots.

Paul Revere's Famous Ride

Early English homes used tea cosies to keep their teapot hot after the tea had brewed. They work - as we still utilize them today! Knitters and crocheters in our family used to compete for the most intricate and whimsical tea cosy creations!

Many people enjoy collecting teapots

I know, because I'm one of them! In all my years of collecting (and I have quite a few teapots), I have never seen such intricate, whimsical teapots as produced by Ardmore Studio. These teapots would be quite suitable on the table at The Mad Hatter's Tea Party! In fact, we're proud to tell you that some of our lovely ceramics from The Ardmore Collection are on display at the shop at the prestigious Gardiner Museum in Toronto now through the end of March 2018.

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At first glance, most people can't tell that this is a teapot! Look closely and you will see that it is. Can't you just see this lovely piece on the tea table in Alice in Wonderland? We sure can!

The Ardmore Collection

On Springvale Farm, located in the KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa), a most astounding art studio is found. Ardmore Ceramics has been acknowledged by the acclaimed auction house - Christie's - as producers of "modern day collectibles". Styled in an exuberant, exotic (even, may we say, whimsical style), the ceramics produced by this remarkable atelier are superb examples of design and craftsmanship. Often inspired by wildlife, Ardmore Ceramics have been exhibited in leading galleries and collections around the world, including The Museum of Art & Design in New York and The Museum of Cultures in Basel (Switzerland). Ardmore's modern art style breaks ceramic conventions, using techniques resulting from years of experimentation with materials and processes. The vibrant colours and enormous attention to detail are simply superb.

 

 

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B is for Bowl - The Most Versatile Vessel Ever

Bowls can be round. But they can also be square, rectangular, oval, oblong - you get the drift. And, not to put too fine a point on it, they can be used for a lot more than consuming liquids or foods.

Latte bowls for drinking coffee. Small tip bowls on your favourite coffee shop counter. Great big bowls for storing things like DVDs, pens, pencils, notepaper. Bowls to hold ever-multiplying remotes on your coffee table. Prep bowls for food. Condiment bowls for spices and relishes. Frankly, I have a fabric bowl on my desk (made by my talented sister who sews) that is what I call my flotsam and jetsam bowl. In other words, a catch-all for whatever I don't know what to do with!

Punch bowls abound at weddings and other celebrations. Big wooden salad bowls are used to create Caesar salads from scratch tableside in some restaurants.

Bowls can be made of many different types of materials such as ceramic,
porcelain, plastic, wood, stone, glass, metal - just to name what readily comes to mind.

Bowls have been in use for thousands of years

Bowls have been found dating back thousands of years in archeological digs in China, Ancient Greece and some Native American cultures.

In ancient Greece, bowls called phiales included a small dent in the centre of the bowl that enabled the bowl to be more easily held or steadied with a finger. Some sources think these phiales were used for perfume instead of wine or other liquids. Imagine! A perfume bowl.

  • So far as we know, the oldest bowl ever found is 18,000 years old.
  • Some Chinese pottery bowls have been dated back to the Neolithic period.

**Did you know that a bowl is also a standard unit of measure? One bowl is 3.75 cups or 887.2059 ml.**

The Ardmore Collection

On Springvale Farm, located in the KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa), a most astounding art studio is found. Ardmore Ceramics has been acknowledged by the acclaimed auction house - Christie's - as producers of "modern day collectibles". Styled in an exuberant, exotic (even, may we say, whimsical style), the ceramics produced by this remarkable atelier are superb examples of design and craftsmanship. Often inspired by wildlife, Ardmore Ceramics have been exhibited in leading galleries and collections around the world, including The Museum of Art & Design in New York and The Museum of Cultures in Basel (Switzerland). Ardmore's modern art style breaks ceramic conventions, using techniques resulting from years of experimentation with materials and processes. The vibrant colours and enormous attention to detail are simply superb.

 

 

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