Teacup Tuesday

Our hostesses for Teacup Tuesday are Martha and Teri.

Be sure to visit to see the Teacups on Parade!

I have a soft spot in my heart for Belleek, perhaps because of my Celtic background.

Their work is gorgeous and the Parian porcelain so thin that the cups are perfect for tea leaf reading, but that's a whole other post!

I'd like to share with you my Belleek Shamrock teapot and teacups.

I love the distinctive harp shaped handles, the hand painted Shamrocks, the rounded edges of the cups in the Shamrock shape.

You can see the shell pattern on the teapot and cups.

I also have a set of 4 mugs hand painted with the Shamrocks and with a woven embossment.

In 1849 John Caldwell Bloomfield inherited the Castlecaldwell estate, which encompassed the village of Belleek, from his father. Mindful of the plight of his tenants in the aftermath of the potato famine he sought to provide some form of worthwhile employment. An amateur mineralogist, he ordered a geologic survey of his land. To his delight it revealed the necessary raw materials to make Pottery - feldspar, kaolin, flint, clay and shale.

Porcelain was featured by Belleek for the first time at the Dublin Exposition of 1872. Their display was the largest in the Irish and English industrial areas. Among the pieces listed in the catalogue for the event are Parian china statues and busts, ice buckets, compotes and centerpieces.

The history of Belleek is interesting and you can read more here.

Have a wonderful week filled with tasty tea!

Joy to You!