About this listing:

This tea cup was hand wheeled with coarse earthenware clay, fired with pine wood for 72 hours without putting on any glaze before firing. Elegant shape, heavy burnt ash layers over red buttery clay body, ash glaze flew down the rim, nice fire marks. The clay will soften the water. capacity: 80ml weight: 149g a243

Please read the introduction below for more intriguing facts about wood-fired and unglazed tea-ware…

Welcome to the world of wood-fired and unglazed tea-ware! These fascinating artworks were hand wheeled or hand built with various kinds of clay, and without putting on any glaze, fired in a traditional kiln with wood for at least 72 hours. The clay body will show interesting colors and textures once fired; the burnt wood will form beautiful ash patterns; and melted ash may flow and form ash glaze over small areas of the naked clay body. There is another kind of natural glaze that is rare but highly desired, called "kiln sweat" 窑汗: it is dripped on to the tea-ware’s body from the kiln's ceiling during the firing, where the pine tree essence gathers and forms glaze drips over many times of firing. 

There are many variables: types of clay (coarse earthenware, fine earthenware, black earthenware, white earthenware, high iron earthenware, porcelain clay, among many other types), types of wood (pine, ebony, rosewood, etc.), firing temperatures, and positions in the kiln, all will make an impact on the firing result.

For example, coarse earthenware clay tend to form rustic burnt ash patterns of white, grey, and yellow; fine earthenware clay tend to form a pattern called "fire mark" that looks like rainbow layers; black earthenware clay tend to show a rich buttery texture with slight red or purple color changes; white earthenware tend to show a pattern called "ash flowers" that looks like golden or brown scattered concentric dots; and high iron earthenware will show a metallic shine of silver blue, dark red, or muted bronze if fired at a higher temperature. 

When burnt ash melt, it may flow and form small amount of glossy glaze on the tea-ware’s surface; the result also depends on the variables. One of the most desired glaze types is the blue and white glaze that looks like ocean and wave. It is achieved by the combination of high temperate and pine wood ash, mainly shown on coarse earthenware; the glaze formed on black earthenware tend to look dark and buttery; glaze of other colors such as yellow, green and purple are very rare but still achievable. 

An important property of wood-fired unglazed tea-ware is that, since most of the surface remain porous (unless covered with ash glaze or kiln sweat), they can bond with the minerals in water and therefore soften the tea water. And as you drink tea with them, a beautiful layer of tea patina will develop over time. 

Most of the tea-wares in my shop are made by artists from Jingdezhen and Dehua, the 2 old cities in southern China that are traditionally famous for fine porcelain making. The young generation artists there have been experimenting with wood firing material and techniques. To pursue better firing results, they push the limits with a high failure rate and a lot of kiln accidents. 

Please check out my store. I have many tea-wares that are mainly never used or lightly used. 

I am a tea lover and I have collected too many tea-wares. I need to make room for more!

Please feel free to contact me with any question you have. I am happy to combine shipping. Have a nice day :D