The wood-fired teacup is hand painted by two artists Cao and Fu in Jingdezhen. Made of white ceramic, the teacup is mottled with black throughout which results from the interaction with the flame and ash in a complicated firing process, giving an impression of Chinese ink wash painting. Inspired by an old architecture that a buddha is mounted into a cave, Cao painted a meditating buddha on the cup taking advantage of the natural ‘cave’pattern. While the xinjing(心经)is handwritten by Fu in another part of the cup, appearing like a worn written paper out of the tumb. The teacup actually is not only a piece of craft, but acts more like a timeline that manifests how much time the artist spent working on it with the expert painting skill.
The teacup holds approximately 135 ml of liquid, making it ideal for an intimate tea session exclusive of a fair cup if you just want to simplify the session when you are more focusing on other things. As the rim is pinched out slightly, the teacup offers pleasure to hold and prevent the fingers from the heat. Note: A woodfired painted piece is usually accomplished by two steps as follows: (I) A piece is made of unglazed or glazed clay then fired for a few days and nights straight under over 1300℃ using a lot of wood in the kiln before being painted as a normal piece is done. (II) An artist will select a woodfired piece with a one-of-kind pattern or color resulted from firing which may come to him/her in a flash of inspiration. Then they will develop a scene, portrait or object on the piece depending on its appearance before a second firing to protect the painting from fading.
