Designed by Mei Leaf in collaboration with the expertise of our potters in Jianshui. This clay cup features the 'Divinity' Dongba symbol and and is approx 70ml to rim (in practice about 50ml serving capacity), making it ideal for any Gong Fu session.
Clay cups are great for experiencing the softening and rounding effects of Jianshui clay after brewing in porcelain for glass. In this way, you can add the effects of Jianshui to any session.
This cup is designed to accompany the Dongba Jianshui Pot but it can be used in any setup.
With a small foot and gently curving yet rising silhouette, this cup has a beautiful look and feel. The rim is gently slayed outwards to make for a smooth sipping experience. It is very sturdy and stable with an excellent weighty feel in the hands.
The cup features an exclusive design inspired by the ancient Dongba script of the Naxi minority group. This language dates back as old as 30AD and comes from the foothills of the Himalayas in Yunnan - the origin of tea and the same province as Jianshui clay. This symbol was used to represent 'Divinity in the home' - perfectly fitting for sipping your precious brews.
We have been working with the same Jianshui potter for many years and her craftsmanship and quality of clay are excellent - a real treasure for your teaware collection.
ABOUT JIANSHUI ZITAO
All of our Jianhsui teaware is made by the potter in the video below and is handcrafted individually. Read more about the unique Jianshui production process below. Every piece is totally individual and there are natural variations in colour and design.
PLEASE NOTE: the red character on this teaware is not painted on. These are inlays of coloured clay. The teaware has to be engraved and then filled in with the coloured clay before firing. Then the wares have to be carefully sanded and polished to make a smooth surface with no blurring between the colours. This simple design actually takes a lot of work and skill.
Jianshui clay is lesser-known than its cousins, Yixing purple clay and Chaozhou red clay but Jianshui has a long history of clay teaware making and a unique style and character which we love at Mei Leaf.
The clay used comes from five different ores from the surrounding hills around Jianshui in Yunnan. The five ores (white, yellow, purple, cyan and five colour) are blended and cured to make a clay which is strong and stable with excellent heat retention and tea softening qualities.
Once the clay has been made, it is kneaded and thrown on the potter's wheel to be formed by hand without the use of any moulding. This is completely handmade and a testament to the immense skills of the Jianshui potters.
After the clay wares have been made, they are shaped by hand using tools and then sent to the painters to illustrate the designs. BUT, what you see on the teaware is not paint, instead, it is coloured clay called a slip inlay. The engravers carve out the painted illustrations and fill with the slip inlay of various colours to create the pattern. This slip inlay process is long and laborious but the result is a smooth finish with a natural appearance and will not fade like paint.
The clay wares are fired in kilns for up to 20 hours at around 1000 degrees Celsius and are then hand sanded to this black colour. We then commissioned the teaware to be half polished to give a tactile satin feel without being over glossy. Our aim in these pots is to show off the natural beauty of this clay and the Jianshui traditional techniques with a fresh and modern design.
Please note that as these are handmade clayware items, sizes may vary slightly.
