The Tingle Factor Box

It's Such A Sad Story - Willow Pattern

Imagine, you are wandering through the remains of one of Australia’s famous gold fields. There isn’t much to see, the buildings are long gone and so are the miners, but there is plenty of evidence of people once living and working in the area. The ground is covered with little pieces of broken pottery, and you notice that many of them are blue and white. You stop to look more closely at the pottery and see that you recognise the pattern on many of the blue and white pieces, in fact you own a few pieces yourself! Amazing to think you can buy the same pattern 150 years later!

When I showed these shards of Willow Pattern Plate to the children, their reactions were interesting, and varied. To many of the children the plates were rubbish, thrown away because it was broken (and in many cases they would have been right!) The idea of actually wanting somebody’s rubbish was ‘just plain weird’. For other children though, seeing the pattern on the plates was very interesting and several recognised it from plates ‘my Grandma has’ or even from pieces owned by their parents. The idea that the same pattern is still being made today fascinated them.

Blue and white china and porcelain has been popular for many years. It was first created in China and shards of china with the blue and white colouring have been found dating right back to ancient times. China produced the highest quality porcelain and china, and by the 1700s were exporting pieces like tea sets to Britain where they were extremely popular. Of course, with the blue and white china being so popular, British manufacturers soon wanted to create their own versions. The Willow Pattern was one of these. The pattern was first introduced to the world in 1780 by the Turner pottery. Turner had specialised in Chinese inspired designs and the Willow Pattern was engraved (and quite probably created) for him by Thomas Minton who would later become a famous potter himself. In 1784 the pattern was introduced into the Spode pottery and it went on to be included in pieces by Adams, Wedgewood, Devenport, Clews and other famous pottery factories. It became the most popular design and is still manufactured today. In fact it was so popular that different qualities of china showing the pattern were made, with thick, crude china for poorer people and fine, bone china for the rich.

The Willow Pattern design is not only beautiful though, it has a story associated with it. Some suggest the story has a basis in a Chinese fable, but most think it is of English origin. According to the story, the plate depicts two faithful lovers, one the daughter of a rich man and the other the rich mans secretary. The rich man promised his daughters hand in marriage to a rich viceroy and when he discovered the lovers, he locked his daughter in a house in an orchard. The daughter escaped though with her lover and they ran to the bridge by the willow tree, being chased by the girls father. Usually you can see the three on the bridge in the pattern. The lovers escaped, for a time, but eventually were killed by the man who the daughter was supposed to marry. The gods took pity on the lovers though and made them into immortal doves. You can see the doves at the top of the plate. If you would like to read a more detailed version of the Willow Pattern story (and there are several versions) click here.

Note: If you are on the gold fields, relics like these shards are protected. You cannot collect them. These shards are from a legal source.

It's Very Pretty - Immortal Hat Charm

Imagine, you are a young mother in China. You have a lovely little boy, and you are so happy. You must make sure he is well cared for, safe and looked after. You aren't sure about some of the traditions, but you don't want anything to happen to him. Today, you sewed eight little charms of the immortals onto his hat to ensure he is lucky and safe. Such finely made metal charms, and even if they don't ensure luck, they certainly look nice!

Is It Part Of A Game? Rice Ball Cooker

Imagine, you are a mother living in China in the mid 1900s. Your family isn’t very wealthy, and you work in the fields every day with your husband to earn a living. Then, each night, you return home to cook a meal for your husband and son. It’s not a grand meal, but it is good and at least you have enough to make the meal filling. You have a little plot of land where you grow vegetables, and of course, there is always rice. You eat rice all the time, and it is such an important part of the diet. Filling, cheap, and it can be served in so many ways.

Isn't A Cock A Rooster? - Shuttlecock

Imagine, you are a child living during the Great Depression. Things are very tough for your family and all the money Dad earns needs to go into paying rent and feeding the family – there is nothing left for buying frivolities like toys and games. A few days ago, you were out and about when a lady hit her badminton shuttle too hard and it came soaring into the street. You picked it up and gave it back to her, but you also realised you could make one! It was just a bit of cork with some feathers in it. You collected some feathers from the ducks down near the river, and found an old bit of cork to put them into. It isn’t a perfect shuttle, but it’s a lot of fun to play with!

When I showed the children this shuttlecock, they knew exactly what it was. Shuttlecocks are still often used by the children because they are soft and easy to use, and most importantly, they don’t hurt if they hit you! The children were very surprised by the shuttlecock though. They are used to plastic shuttlecocks, mass produced in factories. This shuttlecock is made of cork and feathers though, as they traditionally have been for centuries. One child pointed out that the feathers might be why it’s called a ‘shuttlecock’ “after all, isn’t a cock a rooster?” The thing which surprised them most though was how old shuttlecocks were, and that badminton is not the traditional sport they are used in.

Today, shuttlecocks, also known as ‘featherballs’ are most familiar to westerners as the ‘ball’ used in the game badminton, but their use in this game is actually very recent. Shuttlecocks themselves date back far before the game of badminton even existed! The first shuttlecocks came from China and they date back over 2500 years. They were probably first used in military training, but by the 5th century BC they were being used in the game Ti Jian Zi, which literally means ‘kick shuttlecock’. In this game the shuttlecock must be kept in the air by using the feet or other parts of the body to kick it up. Hands are not allowed to be used, though later another game, called battledore was introduced where a paddle was used to hit the shuttlecock back and forth. Both versions of the game quickly spread throughout Asia, and have been played in Japan, Vietnam, Malaysia, Korea and Indonesia for centuries. The original game is now played internationally and is actually called shuttlecock. The shuttlecocks used in this game are different to those used in badminton though, using fewer feathers, and much more heavily weighted. To find out more about this game, click here.

Although shuttlecock is usually accepted to have originated in China, a similar game called Poona has also been played in India since about 1500BC. At first, this game used the hand to hit the shuttle, but as it evolved it split into a womens game (using the hand) and a mens game (using the legs). In about 1870 it was this game which was introduced to England by soldiers who had been stationed in the Indian colonies. The Duke of Beaufort, who is known as ‘the father of Badminton’, loved this game and enjoyed playing the ‘womens’ version with his daughters and family. He played it in his Villa in the village of Badminton, which is probably where the name of the game comes from.

So They're Asian? - Dominoes

Imagine, you are a child living in the 1800s. You don't have a lot of time for fun, as you always seem to be working, but one thing you love is the quiet time with Mother and Father when you can just enjoy each others company. It is rare that Mother and Father have the time to play with you, but occasionally, they get down the treasured set of dominoes and play a game or two with you and your siblings. You don't know where the dominoes came from, you don't think your parents would have spent the money on a set, but you love it all the same.

It's So Pretty - Asian Influenced Ceramic Tea Cup

Imagine, you are a young lady living in the 1700s. The blue and white ceramics coming in on the boats carrying tea are very pretty and you would dearly love to have lots of it for your table. You have a few pieces and it is so strong, much more lasting than the English pieces, and yet the decorations are so delicate. It's all the rage though, and your husband hasn't yet managed to buy many pieces. He has found a few pieces of English make which seem to be painted in the Chinese style though, and you think there will be more and more of them over time!

That's The Coolest Button Ever - Dragon Netsuke

Imagine, it is the early 1800s and you are Japanese woman. It is morning and time to dress. Your husband has an important meeting today, and is already dressed in his obi, getting ready to fasten his tobacco pouch. He was very sad recently, because his favourite netsuke went missing, and he had to use another to hold the pouch in place so you have searched hard to find another similar to it. He will be so happy when he sees it!

That's Terrible! Lotus Shoes

Imagine, you are a mother living in China living in the 1700s. Your daughter has just reached the age where her feet will be bound and you know you should be happy, but you aren't. You know just how painful the next few years will be for her, but you also know that if you don't do this she will never have a good life. Having her feet bound will ensure that she has good marriage prospects and a happy life. Yet you also know just how painful the binding process is, after all, you had it done yourself when you were her age.

So It's Like Pre-Pokemon Pokemon? Japanese Insect Cage

Imagine, you are a child in Japan living in the 1800's. One of your favourite things to do is wander the countryside collecting Mushi (insects) of all different types. You long ago learned to make cages for your little pets out of straw and dried grass, but you have always wanted to have a proper mushi cage. You saw a beautiful metal one in the market place not long ago, decorated in cloisonne of blue and red and green and white. You think any insect calling that cage home would be very lucky!

It's Like Magic! Revelation Box

Imagine, it's your birthday. You had to get through the whole day, and dinner before you were allowed to open a single present, but it was worth it. You got lots of practical things like books and clothes, but your Mum and Dad knew that you were really interested in magic and illusion and managed to find a special sort of a box, a revelation box. You've not seen one before, but you look forward to amazing your friends as you make their coins appear and disappear!