What would we do without pouring vessels? The everyday pieces we use in our kitchen and dinning room are the teapot, creamer, pitcher, cruet and carafe. The proper colonial kitchen would include a coffeepot and a chocolate pot to boot, both variations on the teapot theme. More exotic pouring forms are the ewer, an elongated pitcher that goes with an old-fashioned wash basin; the tokkuri, a small flask for serving saké; and the ibrik, the side-handled carafe traditionally used for Turkish coffee.

Teapot with Stenciled Blue and Green Slips
White stoneware with cobalt and chrome slips, unglazed exterior. Slab construction with extruded spout, handle, and lid hinge.

Teapot with Shovel Handle
White stoneware with stenciled cobalt and chrome slips, unglazed exterior. Slab construction with extruded spout, handle, and lid hinge. Handle from a well-used shovel.

Teapot with Stenciled Blue and Tan Slips
White stoneware with cobalt and iron slips, unglazed exterior. Slab construction with extruded spout, handle, and lid hinge.

Teapot with Green and Black Leaf Pattern
Stoneware with stenciled black slip underglaze and copper matt glaze. Slab construction with extruded spout, handle, and lid hinge.

Teapot with Incised Black Slip
Stoneware with black slip and copper matt glaze. Slab construction with extruded spout, handle, and lid hinge.

Sugar and Creamer
White stoneware with stenciled black slip, unglazed exterior. Slab construction with extruded spout, handle, and lid hinge.

Left-Handed Sake Service with Ebony Handle
Here's a tokkuri with a side handle like an ibrik, just to change things up a bit. The traditional sake set has five cups because four is unlucky. (The number four, shi, sounds the same as the word for death.)

Set of Two Cruets
These are intended for oil and vinegar, but they'd be just as good for soy sauce and sesame oil. White stoneware with stencil-printed black slip.