Tea bowl and saucer with lotus decoration

China

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 204

This elegant set may represent one of the first examples anywhere in the world of a cup and saucer used for drinking tea. It is decorated with carefully carved lotus leaves. Originally symbolic of love in early folk songs, lotuses are associated with purity in Buddhist art.

Tea bowl and saucer with lotus decoration, Stoneware with carved decoration under celadon glaze, China

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Tea bowl and saucer with lotus decoration, Stoneware with carved decoration under celadon glaze, China
Tea bowl and saucer with lotus decoration, Stoneware with carved decoration under celadon glaze, China
Tea bowl and saucer with lotus decoration, Stoneware with carved decoration under celadon glaze, China
Tea bowl and saucer with lotus decoration, Stoneware with carved decoration under celadon glaze, China

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