The wood-fired teacup is hand painted by the artist Cao in Jingdezhen whose works are admired by a wide range of vivid landscape paintings. He has committed himself into hand painting for two decades and is qualified as a national-level class A artificer.
Being applied with two glazes with the intention, the teacup is stunning with the interplay between white and bronze-red , as if a white canvas is put over top the cup waiting for an artist’s painting. The scene in the ‘white canvas’ depicts a wide stretch of a lake and the surroundings in details with well-written calligraphy at either end of the canvas. The overall craftsmanship leaves nothing to wish for.
The teacup holds approximately 100 ml of liquid up to the rim and 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.
