Tea with Adam Buck

Tea bowls and saucers in the style of Adam Buck

Photo: Chronica Domus

It seems to me that most people nowadays lead terribly hurried lives, myself included.  With a busy work schedule, social engagements, child rearing, dog walking, housekeeping, gardening, and then squeezing in everything else one need accomplish to lead a somewhat orderly and enjoyable life, little time remains for much else.  How do we all cope?  One dares only speak for oneself on this score, of course.  So, on those afternoons which find me at home, briefly without obligation, and in need of a restorative brew, I put the kettle on.  I  force myself to sit down for a few indulgent moments and partake of tea with Adam Buck.

Self portrait of the artist and his family, Adam Buck 1813

Source: Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection

Adam Buck was a celebrated Irish artist who made his name in London as a miniature painter, portraitist and illustrator during the English Regency period.  His works were heavily influenced by the Greek Revival movement of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, often depicting maternal scenes in classical poses and other vignettes of domesticated life.  Adam Buck's work, or at least work emulating his style, began to appear on various ceramics during this period.

Mother and child draped across a klismos chair

Photo: Chronica Domus

I do not own any of Buck's popular illustrations of the day, showing fashionable interiors and fashionable people. I do, however, feel quite fortunate to possess a set of six pearlware tea bowls, sans handles, and corresponding deep saucers, embellished with copper and pink lustre bands.  The delightful images that appear on the bowls and saucers were made using a process known as bat printing, a method of decoration that fell out of style around 1820, due to the complexities of applying it to the surface of ceramics correctly.  The glaze on these pieces has a slight blueish tint to it, a characteristic of early pearlware, achieved by the addition of a small amount of cobalt added to the glaze.

At play on an elegant Regency day bed

Photo: Chronica Domus

The teaware is decorated with charming images of mothers and their playful children draped over classical Greek furniture, such as a klismos chair with its elegantly curved legs, and a chaise longue or day bed.  Tempting cherries dangling before an excited child, plucked from a wicker hand basket, and a rattling tambourine, convey the jovial atmosphere of Regency mothers at play.  Their clothing is typical of the era, particularly the high-waisted muslin dresses with little puffy sleeves, accentuating their womanly figures.  Notice the women's hair is styled high on their heads, some with the aid of a bandeau, again reflecting styles typical of ancient Greece.

The epitome of Regency motherhood

Photo: Chronica Domus

I do so enjoy taking the time to sit down for a few gratifying moments while immersing myself in the pleasures of tea drinking.  More so, I think, when I can drink from tea bowls that I very much imagine were privy to some scintillating conversations of the day, by genteel ladies and gentlemen, sitting in well appointed drawing rooms.  I wonder what Adam Buck would have discussed were he to be sipping tea from these bowls?

Much like the rest of us, I do make use of more conventional cups and saucers for drinking hot beverages (all with handles attached to the cups), but these particular pieces remain my favorite.

Do you have an especially cherished cup from which you like to sip tea or coffee, and if so, do you force yourself to take an afternoon break to catch your breath?