Yunnan Flame – 80 ml dai cup
This tall, handmade cup by Master Yiwen features a tapered cylindrical shape, crafted entirely from natural Yunnan clay. During its firing in the wood-fed kiln, fine layers of ash from burning wood settled onto the surface, melting into unpredictable flows of glaze.
The result is a palette shaped by flame: streaks of warm amber, silvery grey, soft white, and deep brown unfold across the surface. A single brighter, golden trail of glaze runs down one side, adding contrast and depth, like a silent mark left by the fire’s passing breath. The fluidity and direction of the glaze reveal the dynamic movement between ash, heat, and clay, telling the quiet story of its making.
Two cups exist in this series. While similar in form and tonality, each is utterly unique, shaped by chance and fire, impossible to replicate.
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DAI-MINORITY TRADITIONAL TEAWARE
依温 Yiwen Laoshi's work
When we visited Yiwen’s studio, the dragon kiln was alive, flames breathing steadily, a mattress laid nearby where a student kept vigil through day and night, tending the fire. Nearby, apprentices carved delicate lines into drying clay, while Yiwen, calm and focused, brewed tea. The air carried the scent of earth and smoke, and everything moved with quiet intention.
Yiwen, a Dai woman born in Xishuangbanna, began working with clay at the age of ten. Direct and determined, she has spent decades refining her craft with unwavering focus. As a recognised inheritor of the Dai slow-wheel pottery technique, she stays rooted in tradition while pushing its boundaries, reviving ancient methods through high-temperature wood-firing.
Using clay dug from the mountains of Yunnan, her works follow over ten traditional steps, from natural fermentation to shaping by hand, and finally, a seven-day wood firing without glazes or additives.
Sometimes ash falls just right, forming a natural glaze; other times, it does not. Her pieces are steady, minimal, and resilient, each one a quiet dialogue between earth and flame.
