Blossom lotus 落灰釉傣陶杯- 60 ml Dai Cup
Handcrafted by ethnic Dai artisans in Yunnan, this delicate tea cup carries the millennia-old primitive pottery craft of the Dai people, finished with natural falling-ash glaze(落灰釉 luò huī yòu) that forms one-of-a-kind earthy colour gradients across its surface.
Natural falling-ash glaze is a unique ceramic glaze formed during wood firing. All clay cups are unglazed before put inside the wood-fire kiln. As the wood burns, fine ash floats through the air and softly settles on the surface of the clay. When the temperature inside reaches an extreme heat of over 1,200°C, this tiny flying ash melts into glass right on the clay itself, creating the glittering we see on the cup.
No chemical paint or pre-applied liquid glaze is used—it is created entirely by the organic reaction between wood, fire, and heat.
Each cup shows two different kind of visual textures:
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Sesame Ash (芝麻落灰): Occurs in areas with slightly lower temperatures or on the side facing away from direct flames. Here, the wood ash melts only partially, leaving behind fine, scattered, rough-textured specks that resemble tiny sesame seeds.
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Vitreous Glaze & Flowing Drips (玻化釉面与流釉): Occurs where heat is at its peak and ash accumulates heavily. The ash melts completely into a smooth, glossy, glass-like surface. Driven by gravity, the molten glaze flows downward to form dynamic "tear-like" drip marks and rich crystalline patterns.
Handcrafted by Mrs. Zhang Laoshi
Dai culture pottery artist
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DAI-MINORITY TRADITIONAL TEAWARE
张老师 Zhang Laoshi's work
Zhang Laoshi's workshop is a real institution in Jinghong, Xishuangbanna; it is an ample courtyard with multiple traditional Dai buildings, hosting enough space for her work, for her kilns - including a Dragon kiln - , her beloved students, and of course an off-limits space where she develops new ideas.
There is also a small museum which gathers the pieces she has inherited by her family since five generations of Dai pottery masters in Banna.
Whereas Qiu Laoshi is the Dai tradition innovator, Ms. Zhang is the keeper of the original tradition and design, honed by her contemporary studies and a life of practice.
The soil she uses is sourced locally from Xishuangbanna, between the wild forests of Mengsong, Laobanzhang, and Yiwu. Each of her creations is a delicate and sincere expression of the Yunnan landscape, and all pieces bear her unique signature.
