So I was innocently looking through the goodies at my friend Liz's gift shop the other day when I spotted a vintage tea canister. It was part of a set, but happily each piece was for sale individually. "Why didn't you TELL me you had a vintage tea canister?" I said. (Sheesh, haven't I trained her better than that?) But then she said this piece actually belonged to Bebe, the woman who helps her at the store, so she hadn't actually displayed this herself. So I had to give her a pass on that, and besides, I was too happy to have found a new piece in some nice fall colors.
The lid was interesting, and I couldn't quite figure out what it was supposed to be. Some fruit, maybe? Hmmm.
I got home with the new tea canister and discovered that, whaddayaknow, those coasters I bought a few weeks ago match the tea canister. Cool!
The brown leaf design is clearly the same one. Sure wish I knew what it was called ...
But what I had not noticed at the store was that unlike my coasters, the tea canister has a sticker on bottom! It says Original Arnart Creations in Japan and the piece itself is stamped "Braun Onion" which means "Brown Onion." I found a description from an Etsy seller who sold some similar pieces: "Made by Original Arnart Creations in Japan with a distinctive middle Eastern hourglass shape and decorative tops, uniquely decorated in a vine, gingko leaf and mum design accented with terra cotta stripes. The lids have a dimensional leafy onion as a handle." Mystery solved!
So I was innocently looking through the goodies at my friend Liz's gift shop the other day when I spotted a vintage tea canister. It was part of a set, but happily each piece was for sale individually. "Why didn't you TELL me you had a vintage tea canister?" I said. (Sheesh, haven't I trained her better than that?) But then she said this piece actually belonged to Bebe, the woman who helps her at the store, so she hadn't actually displayed this herself. So I had to give her a pass on that, and besides, I was too happy to have found a new piece in some nice fall colors.
The lid was interesting, and I couldn't quite figure out what it was supposed to be. Some fruit, maybe? Hmmm.
I got home with the new tea canister and discovered that, whaddayaknow, those coasters I bought a few weeks ago match the tea canister. Cool!
The brown leaf design is clearly the same one. Sure wish I knew what it was called ...
But what I had not noticed at the store was that unlike my coasters, the tea canister has a sticker on bottom! It says Original Arnart Creations in Japan and the piece itself is stamped "Braun Onion" which means "Brown Onion." I found a description from an Etsy seller who sold some similar pieces: "Made by Original Arnart Creations in Japan with a distinctive middle Eastern hourglass shape and decorative tops, uniquely decorated in a vine, gingko leaf and mum design accented with terra cotta stripes. The lids have a dimensional leafy onion as a handle." Mystery solved!
What a great find and nice that it matches your other piece. I like the unusual shape and the color. My guess would have been some kind of fruit too, but it is an interesting lid. I guess I'm trying to figure out how tea and onion pair up, instead of how it ties in with the other canisters in the set.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure that you probably know this already, but the brown onion is a variation of the famous blue onion pattern:
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Onion
That is perfect! What a great find! Woo Hoo!
ReplyDeleteRuth
Wow! What a great tea find!!
ReplyDeleteOh Angela what a surprise today in the mail. Your book is wonderful and I almost cried when I saw my name in the front of the book amongst your blogging friends! I am so touched! Your book is so well researched and interesting! Congrats!
ReplyDeleteBernideen
Don't you love it when separately purchased pieces all come together as a collection?
ReplyDeleteVery unusual tea canister.
Judith
I love it! What a great find and it matches the coasters too. Wow! Lucky you!
ReplyDeleteHi Angela .. I found your blog through Bernideen's post about your book release!! CONGRATULATIONS!! I am now your newest blog follower and can't wait to learn more about your love of tea...xo HHL
ReplyDeleteWhat a nice tea canister. I just found your blog through Bernideen-- and I've just looked at a lot of your older posts! You have a great blog. I'm adding you to my Friends of Linderhof.
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh, this is so awesome! By the way, the piece of writing you shared from the tea prompts was wonderful!
ReplyDeleteGreat find, Angela - it goes so well with your other piece.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great 'decorators eye' you have. Joanie
Again I've learned something new from you -- I had no idea that there was a brown version of Blue Onion. The first dishes I bought was a set of Japanese Blue Onion from an antiques mall.
ReplyDeleteHow fun to have stumbled upin this post! Just today I was fortunate to find Sugar and Coffee canisters in this pattern in a thrift store. I immediately was drawn to the Fall colors and the unusual shape. I'm so glad there are others who share my love of these!
ReplyDelete