Lost-in-translation teapot designs?

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mbanu
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Wed Apr 28, 2021 2:19 am

Bok wrote:
Wed Apr 28, 2021 1:23 am
mbanu wrote:
Tue Apr 27, 2021 7:41 am
a sort of shorthand for Mao.
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Can we please have a Turd-shaped teapot to commemorate the last leader of the Disunited States :lol: :lol: :lol:
Political figure inspired teapots are a deep well of lost-in-translation. :D

Some back-story on these two: https://kammteapotfoundation.org/luck-f ... teapots-2/

Given their shapes, they may have originally been imagined as a tea-and-coffeepot set.
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Bok
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Wed Apr 28, 2021 3:31 am

mbanu wrote:
Wed Apr 28, 2021 2:19 am
Bok wrote:
Wed Apr 28, 2021 1:23 am
mbanu wrote:
Tue Apr 27, 2021 7:41 am
a sort of shorthand for Mao.
Image
Can we please have a Turd-shaped teapot to commemorate the last leader of the Disunited States :lol: :lol: :lol:
Political figure inspired teapots are a deep well of lost-in-translation. :D

Some back-story on these two: https://kammteapotfoundation.org/luck-f ... teapots-2/

Given their shapes, they may have originally been imagined as a tea-and-coffeepot set.
Image
On the other hand, some of these people do not even warrant the effort to make these items...
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mbanu
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Fri Apr 30, 2021 12:38 pm

From Carters of Suffolk, who seems to specialize in lost-in-translation designs. :D This is a reference to the Dutch artist Piet Mondrian, who made a series of paintings with a similar abstract design that influenced many other artists. I think in the general consciousness it is sort of a shorthand for Modernism -- many Americans (and Brits, I assume) might not know the artist, but they will recognize the aesthetic it is referencing.
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debunix
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Fri Apr 30, 2021 1:50 pm

That is a very striking pot. Way cool!
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mbanu
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Sun May 02, 2021 11:49 am

Another standard lost-in-translation design, the grape-loving squirrel. :D In the U.S., the idea that a squirrel might be specifically interested in grapes would be very strange, as squirrels are associated with nuts here. They also aren't usually seen as a role model animal like a lion or a dog -- to be "squirrelly" means to be jittery, or is a euphemism for "nutty" going back to the connection between squirrels and nuts. Americans would probably assume that the squirrel after grapes teapot is a joke about eccentric behavior after having too much caffeine, although apparently that's not the case. (The actual meaning has to do with squirrels and grapes both producing a lot of offspring, if I understand correctly.)
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mbanu
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Sun May 02, 2021 12:01 pm

Maybe the American version of a "grape-loving squirrel" teapot would be a "carrot-loving rabbit" teapot? In the U.S., rabbits are usually the animal associated with this ("breed like rabbits"), although this particular teapot might instead be themed for Easter.
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mbanu
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Mon May 03, 2021 12:02 pm

LeoFox wrote:
Tue Apr 27, 2021 10:48 pm
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This one took me a while, I think because I had to think about when someone would use this teapot. Then I realized it's a joke-pot when having tea out in the yard, with the lost-in-translation being why that joke would be funny. With Americans, at least, when televisions first became so widespread that they were seen as part of everyday life, the older generation would criticize children for no longer wanting to go outside because they would rather watch TV. Forcing them outside, such as on a family camping trip, there would inevitably be complaints about the lack of TV. Now those children are the older generation, and can poke fun at their younger selves as they enjoy tea outdoors. :D Also maybe a verbal pun, "tea-vee". However, for this to make sense, television had to have been a large part of one's childhood, which would not have been the case in all countries. (I haven't got the slightest clue what the equivalent teapot would be for a country where children preferred to stay indoors against the wishes of their elders, though.)
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mbanu
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Tue May 04, 2021 1:25 am

Maybe another one, the "Monk's Hat" teapot.

"Have you ever seen a bishop and just really wanted to drink tea out of his hat?" is not a conversation I've had yet, although the Danish might understand, as they had something called a "Bispebolle" for drinking punch out of that was basically shaped like a bishop's hat. :)
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LeoFox
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Tue May 04, 2021 8:17 am

I actually have this one🦊
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mbanu
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Wed May 05, 2021 9:50 am

Not sure if this one counts, as basketball is equally popular in China and the United States, but maybe a puzzler elsewhere. :D (Using the slightly squashed shape because you're letting all the tea out is a nice touch.)
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pizzapotamus
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Wed May 05, 2021 1:45 pm

mbanu wrote:
Wed May 05, 2021 9:50 am
Not sure if this one counts, as basketball is equally popular in China and the United States, but maybe a puzzler elsewhere. :D (Using the slightly squashed shape because you're letting all the tea out is a nice touch.)
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Something certainly got lost with the logo, either it's a Chinese reference that's lost on this American or the person doing it had no idea what they were actually copying because no matter how hard I squint I can't make that into Jerry West.
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mbanu
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Wed May 05, 2021 3:28 pm

pizzapotamus wrote:
Wed May 05, 2021 1:45 pm
mbanu wrote:
Wed May 05, 2021 9:50 am
Not sure if this one counts, as basketball is equally popular in China and the United States, but maybe a puzzler elsewhere. :D (Using the slightly squashed shape because you're letting all the tea out is a nice touch.)
Image
Something certainly got lost with the logo, either it's a Chinese reference that's lost on this American or the person doing it had no idea what they were actually copying because no matter how hard I squint I can't make that into Jerry West.
My guess would be that it was a second-generation pot made by someone inspired after seeing a photo of another NBA pot but who has maybe not seen an NBA logo up close, which I suppose is another sort of lost-in-translation. :D (Alternately, it could have been made by a potter who can't draw.) Better effort on this one, I think.
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mbanu
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Wed May 05, 2021 4:00 pm

An interesting one here in that the pot and context would be lost-in-translation, but not the general idea. This is a "fish-becoming-a-dragon" teapot, which was apparently supposed to represent passing the imperial exams and transforming from a student into government-official -- I imagine today it would be a popular college graduation motif?

However, the general idea is well-known in America (at least among younger folks) due to it being included in the Nintendo franchise Pokemon, where a useless carp Pokemon can be transformed into a powerful dragon Pokemon through training. :D
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Yoroko
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Fri May 07, 2021 4:48 am

I got this T-Cat a few years ago and I use it for herbal infusions. A Chinese friend had very different associations with my tea cat than I did:
• Because they can see so well in the dark, cats protect against evil spirits (in the dark).
• Cats are also the guardians of silkworms in China.
The first was not that far from Europe, but the silkworms are a great, completely different association than we Europeans (or Americans) would ever have. The three-colored cat is considered a messenger of happiness in our culture, ...

And not to forget the Maneki-neko 招き猫 in Japan: It symbolizes the approaching of a person. The cat waving to the right is said to bring wealth to a shopkeeper, for example. The left waving cat many customers. These are mostly golden. But there are other color meanings: the red cat protects against diseases. The white one stands for purity and innocence. A black waving cat is supposed to protect against thieves and even ward off stalkers. The pink cat is said to bring happiness in love to the owner.

Maybe I could train my TeaCat-Pot winking? With all paws and with changing colors. ;)
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mbanu
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Sun May 09, 2021 8:13 pm

Very nice! I appreciate that they didn't try to make the spout part of the cat -- I think a common problem with cat pots for me is that there is really no portion of a cat that I want to drink tea out of. :D
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