Friday, June 10, 2022

Le Petit Déjeuner … with tea?


I always love coming across new tea-related images on the Library of Congress website, but one that I found this week is a little puzzling. Titled "Le Petit Déjeuner," the print "shows a young woman sitting at a table, reading a letter(?), and having tea or coffee."

Okay. But that sure looks like what I call a Turkish teapot, that metal contraption with a stick-like handle rather than a circular handle. The image is a French etching from 1770-1820, so I sure would have expected to see a traditional china teapot in the photo. (Any readers happen to know about French tea wares of that period? If not, I guess I'm off to do some more research!)

3 comments:

  1. You have an eagle eye! I might not have noticed the handle on that "teapot" but it certainly doesn't look like the china teapots we're used to seeing. However, I know less than nothing about French teawares. Good luck with your research.

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  2. Perhaps that is a CHOCOLATE pot, not a coffee or tea pot. Hot chocolate was a popular breakfast drink at that time in Europe and America ("le petit dejeuner" does mean "breakfast"). There were specific pots made for hot chocolate, and some looked similar to that etching. You can Google "French porcelain and wood chocolate pots" for some photos of some pretty ones.


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  3. Yes, I agree with Vernona, I do believe it is a chocolate pot, which is often used for hot chocolate at tea time.

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