ANTIQUE / VINTAGE JAPANESE CAST IRON TEA KETTLE (TETSUBIN,) SIGNED, ARARE PATTERN

This item is a high end tea kettle, with a very small, sharply defined arare pattern. It has a long spout, tight fitting lid (cap) with a flowery finial, and the handle is forged onto the kettle.

Size – approximately 6 ¾” diameter, 8 ½” total height.

It is signed with a very clear mark near the spout.

The Cast Iron Kettle, called a "Tetsubin" in Japanese, has been produced in Japan for hundreds of years. It is traditionally a hand crafted object that was developed as a utensil for use in the Japanese Tea Ceremony. These Cast Iron Kettles are made by pouring molten iron into either clay or sand molds. Clay molds are used in the production of high-end artisanal Tetsubin products, while those Tetsubin mass produced by the hundreds using sand molds are destined for common commercial sales and export.

A Tetsubin is not a kettle for brewing tea, but for boiling water.

In general, most of the hand-made cast iron tea ware is a “kettle.” The majority of tea pots are commercially made in a mass production process. The major difference is as follow.

·       1) A Tea Pot has a strainer, while a kettle does not.

·       2) The internal surface of a tea pot is glazed, while a kettle is not.

Once the shape of mold is completed, the pattern is stamped according to the intended design. It is very time consuming work as everything is fully dependant on manual work. Traditionally, three major patterns are always used for cast iron kettles. In particular, the arare is very typical. In making high-end cast iron kettles, the mold is used only once. In this case, stamping work has to be carried out for each product.

Arare is the most typical design of Nanbu. Arare is manually stamped using various sizes of rods. The more vivid the arare pattern appears, the better the quality it is. The sharpness of arare depends on the workmanship as well as how many times the same mold is recycled. In making high-end arare, the mold is used only once and it is never recycled. On the other hand, when the same mold is recycled over and over again, the arare pattern becomes blurred. There are various sizes of arare: normal size, intermediate size, Kikko (亀甲) and big size which is called Oni-arare (鬼霰).

There is a small hole in the bottom, possibly where a katamochi nail was located. Usually a Tetsubin has 2 circular spots at its bottom part. It is the place where “katamochi” was located. Katamochi is the 2 nails that are used to fix the internal mold (nakago) during casting. Thus a Tetsubin has 2 holes on its bottom. These holes are sealed with material that is prepared mixing urushi with iron sands.

When a cast iron Tetsubin is heated, these 2 spots can be over heated. Due to the nature of the material used on these spots, it gets hotter than cast iron. Therefore it is necessary to start heating at very low output if an induction heater is used.

I’ve tried to show the pros and cons in the above photos, which are of the actual item you are bidding on.

I typically purchase my items at high end estate sales in Southern California. This, along with numerous other finds, is now up for auction.

Please be aware that each of my items is also available through local sales or other venues. As such I may end a listing early if the item is no longer available.

I am not an expert on this item. I do my very best to determine particulars of the items I offer, and describe them accurately. That, the pictures, any questions you send me, and your expertise must guide you in your estimate of value.

I also have many other items that I will be listing. So please keep checking my other eBay listings, where I have listed at various times:

Bombay Company Blue & White China

Vintage Furniture

Original Oil & Watercolor Paintings

Various Collectibles

I’m always looking for interesting and scarce objects so I can pass them along. New items appear continuously that I will be listing in the future.

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