Teacup Nixing
Liu Bao

Name: Wu Haoyu Nixing Teacup Liu Bao Suyuan
SKU: 8268
Price: 325.00 EUR
Availability: InStock

Wu Haoyu

SKU

8268

A limited edition teacup by renowned Chinese ceramic artist Wu Haoyu, handcrafted from Nixing clay in his signature wafer-thin style. Partially dipped in a deep grey-green glaze, revealing the red-brown clay body beneath, this spectacular creation is part of a special collection that pays tribute to Liu Bao: a post-fermented tea speciality from Guangxi province, whose fertile lands are also the source of Nixing clay. Perfect for pairing with one of the matching Liu Bao teapots in the same range.

Item	Teacup
Artist	Wu Haoyu
Origin	Nanning, Guangxi, China
Dimensions	Ø6.5 x 4 cm
Volume	70ml
Material	Nixing clay
Artist stamp	Seal to base
Packaging	Gift box

Each piece is handmade and unique therefore sizing is approximate and appearance may vary.

In stock

Contemporary ceramic artist and tea connoisseur Wu Haoyu serves as an Associate Professor of Art and Ceramic Design at the prestigious Tsinghua University in Beijing. He has exhibited at major art events such as the Venice Biennale and the London Design Festival as well as numerous art museums and the Chinese Embassy in Italy. In addition to vases and abstract artworks, he also creates highly collectible wood-fired teaware made of Nixing clay, which he personally collects from the mountains of Guangxi and refines using traditional techniques. Over years of intensively studying the clay Wu Haoyu has developed a signature aesthetic that centres on claybodies unparalleled in their lightness and elegance in an exquisite palette of brown to black hues.

Legendary Chinese tea master, Lu Yu (733-804), aka “the Sage of Tea”, regarded frugality and restraint as essential to the art of the tea connoisseur. Few tea accessories encapsulate these qualities quite as effectively as the tiny Pin Ming Bei cup (literally “tasting tea cup”) designed for sipping, rather than gulping, thereby encouraging the user to focus on and savour the taste of the tea. This is especially pertinent for fine Chinese teas that subtly evolve with each infusion, taking the drinker on a flavour journey.

Boasting a 1300 year old history, Nixing – along with Yixing, Jianshui and Rongchang – is one of the four renowned styles of traditional Chinese pottery. Produced in Qinzhou, Guangxi province, Nixing wares are made from a mixture of two clays dug from the banks on both sides of the Qinjiang river. Baked unglazed at high temperatures of around 1200°C, the mineral-rich clay takes on colours ranging from the characteristic deep copper brown to blue-greys and black, which is then often polished to reveal an incredibly smooth matte surface that is particularly suited to decorative carving. Less porous than Yixing clay, Nixing teaware is suitable for enjoying all types of Chinese tea, especially Liu Bao, Pu Erh, Oolong and black teas.