Claimed while it was still being created, this distinctive tea cup offers a rare look at a master potter’s creative process. Its unusual two-part construction features a hollow lower body with a dragon design individually pierced through the clay, supporting a shallow drinking bowl above.
The exterior is finished in a softly variegated sage-green glaze with visible throwing lines and a warm brown rim. Inside, the cup reveals a dramatic glossy black glaze filled with fine bronze and golden crystal-like markings that become especially vivid toward the rim.
The pierced dragon carries the irregularities and tool marks of being shaped entirely by hand. Rather than a perfectly uniform manufactured design, each opening reflects the artist’s individual cuts and the unpredictable changes created during firing. Light passing through the hollow body helps reveal the dragon wrapped around the cup.
An experimental and truly one-of-a-kind piece for collectors who appreciate unusual construction, visible handwork, and pottery that tells the story of how it was made.
