by Corynne Nuckols
That little tea set. It was so tiny, set in a glass box, but it allowed me to go to other places. It was an escape for me when we had to visit her.
I first really noticed it when I was pretty small, just starting school. I saw that little glass box one day and knew there was something special in there. I remember staring at it for the longest time. As a child, every time we went to visit grandma, I’d have to go and check on that little tea set. I still noticed it, even as an adult.
The entire box is about 2 inches high, by 4 inches deep, by 8 inches long. It’s shaped like an elongated hexagon. It has brass edges that hold clear glass panels that are engraved with little flowers. There is a piece of black fabric lining the inside bottom of the box and 4 tiny brass button feet on the bottom.
There are 2 teapots, a sugar and creamer, and 6 cups. Each individual piece is about an inch in height, ivory and brown speckled. There is tiny little gold lace trim and gold and pearl beads decorating each different piece.
I couldn’t understand how they had made it so small. All the tea sets I had ever seen before were made from porcelain. I just couldn’t figure out why this one looked so different. Imagine my surprise when my grandmother told me that it was made from quail eggs. Then she told me how it was made.
Wow. It just blew my little child mind. I wrote out a tiny little piece of paper stating exactly what that tea set was made of, dated it and placed it inside the box. I loved looking at that little tea set. I used to imagine all sorts of stories about it. Little fairies having garden parties, garden critters having parties, all sorts of scenarios.
Then my grandmother died.
As we were cleaning out her home, I found that little tea set again. No one else had claimed it. They said it was worthless so they had actually thrown it away.
I saved it and now it’s in my home.