Ceramic Frog Tea Pet

Ceramic frog tea pet

This frog tea pet is a small hand-painted stoneware figure that sits on the tea table and is fed with leftover tea. There are three poses to choose from: one sitting cross-legged with its hands together and a string of white beads, one lying flat with its back legs kicked up, and one lounging on its side with its head propped on one hand.

The body is a coarse, speckled off-white clay, unglazed apart from the black glazed eyes, with red stripes painted on the cheeks and limbs. Because the clay is bare, it drinks up tea as you pour it over, dries quickly, and slowly darkens and takes on a sheen over months of use. Each one is formed and painted by hand, so sizes and markings vary a little from frog to frog, and small pinholes or specks in the clay are part of how they come out of the kiln.

They are small. The meditating frog is about 5 cm tall and the other two are under 7 cm long, so they fit on a saucer, a tea tray, or the lotus leaf incense dish we sell alongside them.

Product details

• Meditating frog: about 4 x 3.5 x 4.8 cm, 35 g
• Lying frog: about 5.5 x 3.5 x 3 cm, 28 g
• Lounging frog: about 6.5 x 2.2 x 3.2 cm, 25 g
• Material: high-fired coarse stoneware, hand-painted
• Sold as: one frog; the lotus leaf dish is a separate product

This works well for

• A first tea pet, since it needs nothing more than the tea you are already pouring
• Sitting on the lotus leaf incense dish, which it was made to go with
• A small gift for someone with a tea tray or a desk that could use some company
• Collecting all three poses

If you are in Hobart, the three frogs are on the shelf at our Salamanca Tea Bar, so you can see the poses side by side before you pick one.

Caring for your tea pet

Pour leftover tea over it during your sessions, give it a wipe with a soft tea brush or cloth now and then, and let it dry on the tray. No soap or detergent; a rinse in plain hot water is enough. The clay is fired hard but the limbs are thin, so treat it as you would any small ceramic figure.

Shipping

Ships from Hobart, Tasmania. Free shipping on orders over $95 Australia-wide. Each frog is wrapped and boxed with padding.

Related

Lotus Leaf Incense Holder · Tea Pet · Tea Wares