Goodwill Treasure

Anna:  I took our younger daughter to Goodwill yesterday, as she was on the hunt for a Halloween costume.  While there I spotted a fascinating treasure, unlike anything I've seen before.  It was so beautiful and unique, I couldn't resist grabbing it.  I'm now posting a series of pictures.  See how long it takes you to figure out what it is - it should be obvious fairly soon.

First, the bowl.



Starting from the bottom, up!  Here's an inside view of the bowl.  The bowl actually gets covered, so I didn't see that it was decorated until I was standing in line to buy the set.  A pleasant surprise.





A side view; there are three of these little focal points around the bowl. 



Here is the tray, which fits over the bowl like a lid.



There are four of these matching, handle-less cups.  It was the cups that tipped the balance in my decision to buy the set. 





Looking at the inside, do you notice how strangely thick the sides are?  Yet it's not as heavy as one would expect.  Here's why.





The cups are double walled.  The liquid tight plug can be removed, revealing the narrow space in between the walls.



If you haven't figure it out yet, yes, this is a tea set, and here is the tiny little teapot, barely bigger than my own hand. 




It comes with a strainer for loose tea leaves. 




I love the little decorated lid.

The pot holds just enough water to fill the four little cups.  No room for seconds!



Finally, the entire set put together. 

What I figure is, boiling water is meant to be put into the bowl to help keep the pot and cups on the tray warm, and the cups get boiling water poured into their double walls as well.  The pot and cups are so small, however, I can't see how any tea would have a chance to get cold before it's all gone!

The bottom of the bowl reads "Taiwan Ei-Long Art Ceramics."  I've looked through their website, but haven't found another set like this, though I'm in love with their celadon line.  I've have found some similar sets, though.  

Note the prices at those links?

I got this set for $19.99

I don't know why this set got donated to Goodwill, but to whoever decided they didn't need it anymore, thank you!