Newby’s renowned hunan green tea originates from Hunan Province, one of China’s most celebrated tea-growing regions. To complement the tea Newby has chosen a rare famille verte Chinese teapot from The Chitra Collection to decorate the packaging.
This hexagonal teapot dates from the Kangxi Period in China, ca.1690. Famille verte wares were purposely manufactured to be exported overseas; a French art historian called Albert Jacquemart coined the term famille verte towards the end of the 19th Century in his seminal book ‘L’Histoire de la Céramique’. Here, a brilliant apple green dominates the surface colour of the teapot along with iron-red, yellows, purples and blues.
This teapot with an arched double handle depicts the 8 mythological horses of Mu Wang, who was the emperor of the Zhou dynasty from 1023-983 BC. According to the myth, each horse had a supernatural gift, from galloping without touching the ground to riding on a cloud. The tale was used as a metaphor for the safe and prosperous voyage of any Chinese ruler.
