Very nice little tea cups made from Chinese Yixing clay. Among tea lovers, yixing clay is one of the most highly revered materials for tea pots and cups. There are many reasons for this; a very practical reason is that the material very well preserves the warmth of the tea, while on the other hand not burning the hands of the tea drinker. And on a more esthetic and spiritual level; with every time the cups are filled with tea, the tea seeps more and more into the pores of the clay, over time building up a beautiful shiny patina of age. Please note; pots and cups made from yixing clay are for this reason of course not washed with aggressive fluids, but instead only rinsed lightly with some lukewarm water after use.
These cups here in our shop are made from yixing clay in a natural brown color and decorated with depictions of bats. Due to the similarity in pronounciation between the chinese word for 'bat' and the chinese word for 'prosperity', the bat became associated with prosperity, wealth and good fortune. Besides that, they are also associated with different aspects of life; logevity, peace, dignity, good health and a peaceful death. And because of their preference to live in caves (i.e. access portals to the womb of Mother Earth), they are also considered keepers of important knowledge about death and rebirth.
Beautiful cups such as these can not only be used during your personal tea ceremonies, but are also perfect to use as offering bowls for offering high quality tea and other liquid offerings to the spirits.
These small cups are 6,5 centimeters in diameter and 3,5 centimeters high. They come to us via our friends at Shaman Bazar.
