Asian Packaging

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I came across the following passage in a book called Japanese tea culture: art, 

history, and practice by Morgan Pitelka. It reminded me of the packing boxes that 

a few of my contemporary Chinese ceramics arrived in from China:

Imagine that it is autumn, 1606; you are a successful merchant from an established textile shop in Kyoto, and you have a problem. You have invited five close friends to a tea gathering for the occasion of opening your jar of new tea, which was picked in the spring at the best plantation in Uji. The new-tea season is especially festive in Kyoto, and you're eager to plan a stylish event. The centrepiece of you display, naturally, will be the fine antique Chinese tea-leaf storage jar you inherited from you grandfather. Your friends know that jar already, since it's famous in tea circles, and you want to surprise them with at least one utensil they've never seen before, something that will make them fiercely jealous. Perhaps a tea bowl. You had thought of using your Shino tea bowl but, although it's a treasure, you bought it a good ten years ago and styles have certainly CHanged. That's it - you need anew tea bowl. That very afternoon, you leave your store on Teramachi Street and stroll west along Sanjo to the neighbourhood where all the antique dealers have their shops. The narrow shops fronting the busy thoroughfare offer a dazzling variety of ceramics - Chinese and Korean heirlooms, new imports from China and Southeast Asia, and brand new ceramics from kilns in Kyoto and the provinces. One dealer you know specialises in pots from the Mino kilns, where your Shino bowl was made. You've heard intriguing rumors about the novel styles of Mino tea wares coming out of the new kiln built just last year. You're in luck. The dealer has just received a shipment of tea bowls from Mino, and you can see why everyone's talking - these bowls are amazing! All of them bear shiny black glaze, with big white patches painted boldly in black in an array of patterns that resemble the latest textile designs you feature in you own shop. Finally you settle on the perfect one and order a padded silk storage bag and wooden box. The bowl will be delivered next week. You stroll home, relieved and full of anticipation about your forthcoming teas. It's going to cause a sensation! Although this scenario might seem like pure fantasy, it is based on recent archaeological excavations of Momoyama period (1573-1615) and early Edo period (1615-1868) sites in Japan. Since 1988, three excavations confuted on plots along Sanjo Street in Kyoto have uncovered the sites of dealers' shops together with the troves of ceramics that once lined their shelves. The Sanjo finds mingle antiques and brand new pots, from China and Korea as well as Japan; South-east Asian pots appear in other sites. These astonishing finds of raw data, combined with the rich information supplied by heirloom ceramics and by tea diaries, and other primary documents of the Momoyama period, provide an extraordinarily detailed picture of the presence of ceramics in Momoyama Japan.

My boxes are not wooden, and the linings are not silk, but it was a nice touch 

anyway. I understand it is still common practice in Japan to do it the 'old way' for 

the storage of special ceramic pieces.

One of my Yixing pots:

Yixing teapot by Ling Yan Qin.
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