These fair cups are made by a female potter, Fan base in Jingdezhen, who has committed herself to study of Shino glaze for 7 years. Fan ’s potteries are characterized by patches of shiny greenish-yellow crystals in the surface created her own blending of glaze.
A Fair cup usually plays an important role in gongfu tea (cha) ceremony which is called “Gong Bei” or “Gong Dao Bei” in Mandarin. It is used to share tea with all participants at the same serving generally during process of gongfu tea (cha) ceremony, where the tea is poured from a teapot into a fair up, then from there into several smaller teacups.
With the moss-like appearance, the fair cup is glazed with a mottled effect of luminous yellow dots on black and white, providing strong visual and textural contrast. Balancing with the mess of black, the speckled yellow can glitter slightly in the sunlight. Except for the area of the rim, the inside is plain white from the original clay with transparent celadon liner glaze. The wall of the fair cup is thick and provides good heat-preservation quality. Being pinched out widely enough, the spout certainly guarantees fast and large pour.
With a capacity of 210ml, the fair cup is excellent to share tea for 1-3 persons. Snow white interior is useful for reflecting the pureness of tea, making it a good option to assess the quality of tea.
