Garden Tea Set
Haruka Matsuo & Jacolijn Verhoef
There are many tools in the world, but none so philosophical and narrative as instruments use in the Japanese tea ceremony. The tea box “Garden Tea Set” will take you to a mental tour through the garden while enjoying your tea. You open the lid of the box like you are opening the wooden gate to the garden. Place the bright yellow brass teapot stand in the dish and enjoy how it shines like the sun. Take your teapot on the stand and observe how it has the color of freshly ploughed Dutch soil.
SUN, SEEDS AND SOIL, Teaset #1 We sow
Dutch stoneware, Brass, Silver
Japanese ceramist Haruka Matsuo and Dutch goldsmith Jacolijn Verhoef met while studying at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy. Our shared love for tea and nature led to a collaboration during the pandemic. We have been developing tea sets with specific elements of gardens in mind.
Last half year of the pandemic period, we participated in the Sunday market on Museumplein Amsterdam. Every month we show our works to the public on purpose of receiving direct response from people. At same time we discuss with each other, making plans and speaking out our passion towards the tea ceremony and tea sets.
Teaboat teapot stand, Jacolijn Verhoef
Handmade brass teapot stand inlaid with silver. To be used in the bowl as teaboat. The brass is fire patinated to a warm golden yellow like sunlight. The pattern is derived from an antique Ise-Katagami stencil, formerly used for dyeing kimonos and referring to seeds.
Ø 85x H10 mm
Jacolijn and Haruka shared love of tea and nature led them to work together. Together they make tea sets with specific elements of the garden in mind. Enjoying a cup of tea in nature is a wonderful moment for rest and reflection. A luxury we rarely have in our busy daily lives. By using references to the garden in their tea sets, Haruka and Jacolijn invite you to take a mental tour through the garden while enjoying your tea. This first tea set is about the beginning, sowing. The teapot, cups and other ceramic elements are made of Dutch Deventer clay. Haruka dug and processed it herself. The brass teaspoon and coaster for the teapot made by Jacolijn have a warm golden colour of sunlight and are inlaid with silver. The pattern of silver is derived from an antique Ise-Katagami stencil and is reminiscent of seeds scattered across the earth. Together with the water of the tea, all elements are present for the seeds to grow into beautiful flowers.
Teaset #1: We sow
Step 1:
Open the lid of the box like you are opening the wooden gate to the garden.
Step 2:
Take out the tea boat dish made from Dutch Deventer clay and smell the earth.
Step 3:
Place the bright yellow brass teapot stand in the dish and enjoy how it shines like the sun.
Step 4:
Place your teapot on the stand and observe how it has the color of freshly ploughed Dutch soil.
Step 5:
Take out the bright brass teascoop with its silver pattern of scattered seeds.
Step 6:
Take out the cups and you’re all set.
Step 7:
Rinse the teapot and cups with freshly boiled water like watering the soil before sowing.
Step 8:
Measure the tea in the teascoop and let the tea fall in the teapot like seeds falling on the soil.
Step 9:
Water the seeds a second time by rinsing the tea with freshly boiled water.
Step 10:
Make your tea and enjoy the anticipation of the beautiful flowers that will grow from your seeds.
Gardan in 's Gravelend
Harbs, vegetables, teas are grown in this garden.
Teapot , Haruka Matsuo
Made of Dutch Deventer clay according to the traditional Japanese Banko technique using a wooden puzzle mould.
Ø 90mm H90mm
Tea scoop, Jacolijn Verhoef
Large handmade brass tea server inlaid with silver. The brass is fire patinated to a warm golden yellow like sunlight. The pattern is derived from an antique Ise-Katagami stencil, formerly used for dyeing kimonos and referring to seeds.
H15 x 52 x 140 mm
Kigata Banko
Garden tea set teapots are made with Japanese traditional puzzeled wooden mould-Kigata Banko.
This craft which uses a special puzzled wooden mold to make teapots was invented 190 years ago by a Japanese craft artist Yusetsu Mori(1808-1882). Yuesetsu applied the puzzled wooden mold technique to teapot-making for green tea ceremony. The technique was once used to make Japanese paper bamboo lamps.
Japanese traditional puzzeled wooden mould-Kigata Banko.
Ise-Katagami
Tiny Tea scoop Small handmade brass tea scoop inlaid with silver. The brass is fire patinated so every scoop is different. The pattern is derived from an antique Ise-Katagami stencil, formerly used for dyeing kimonos.
Tea scoop, Jacolijn Verhoef
The brass teaspoon and coaster for the teapot made by Jacolijn have a warm golden colour of sunlight and are inlaid with silver. The pattern of silver is derived from an antique Ise-Katagami stencil and is reminiscent of seeds scattered over the earth. Together with the water of the tea, all elements are present for the seeds to grow into beautiful flowers.
Brass, silver, H10 x 32 x 91 mm
