Cyan Glaze Floral-Lobed · Emerald Feather Tianmu Tea Cup

# Green Glaze Flower-Mouthed · Emerald Feather Tianmu Teacup The Green Glaze Flower-Mouthed · Emerald Feather Tianmu Teacup is a type of teaware with unique artistic charm and cultural connotations. Below is a detailed introduction to it: – **Shape Design**: The Green Glaze Flower-Mouthed · Emerald Feather Tianmu Teacup usually takes the shape of a bamboo hat, with a wide mouth and a small base, and its overall lines are smooth. The mouth of the cup is mostly in the shape of twelve symmetrical diamond flowers, like a blooming stamen. Each ridge line is smooth and natural, full of tension, giving people a flexible and beautiful feeling. The bottom of the cup is like a stamen surrounded by petals, stretching upward along the cup wall. The design is exquisite and ingenious. – **Size and Capacity**: Taking the Emerald Feather Cup of Qingdan Kiln as an example, its mouth diameter is about 9.5 cm, height is about 3.9 cm, base diameter is about 2.7 cm, and capacity is about 75 ml. This size is moderate, making it easy to hold and taste tea. – **Glaze Color Characteristics**: The glaze color of this teacup is mostly sky blue—green like the sky, bright like a polished surface, resembling jade yet surpassing jade. It presents unpredictable colors under different lights, giving people a warm and jade-like, fresh and elegant aesthetic feeling. Some teacups also have the phenomenon of “crackle” on the glaze surface. The crackles are delicate, like the veins of time. As the usage time increases, the crackle patterns will gradually change, adding more charm to the teacup. – **Craftsmanship Production**: The teacup is made by hand, and craftsmen need to go through multiple processes to complete it. Taking the Ru porcelain Emerald Feather Cup from Jingdezhen as an example, its body is made of original kaolin, commonly known as “incense ash body”, and the glaze is infused with precious agate, then fired at high temperature. The exquisite production process embodies the charm of traditional ceramic craftsmanship. – **Cultural Connotations**: The design inspiration of the flower-shaped mouth may come from the ancient love for flowers such as lotus. In Buddhism, the lotus symbolizes holiness, purity and elegance. Integrating this element into the design of the tea-tasting cup endows the daily activity of tea tasting with more Zen and philosophical connotations. At the same time, the sky-blue glaze color also contains the pursuit of natural and simple beauty in traditional Chinese culture, reflecting the unique aesthetic taste and cultural heritage of the Chinese people. ### Key Terminology Notes: 1. **翠羽天目 (Emerald Feather Tianmu)**: “Tianmu” refers to a special type of Chinese ceramic with distinctive glaze effects, originally named after Tianmu Mountain in Zhejiang Province. “Emerald Feather” describes the teacup’s glaze that shimmers like green bird feathers, hence the translated name. 2. **开片 (Crackle)**: A classic decorative effect in traditional Chinese porcelain, formed by intentional or natural cracks in the glaze during firing or cooling, valued for its unique texture that evolves over time. 3. **香灰胎 (Incense Ash Body)**: A term for the light grayish-white porcelain body (resembling the color of burnt incense ash) typical of Ru porcelain, a renowned type of ancient Chinese celadon. 4. **汝瓷 (Ru Porcelain)**: One of the “Five Great Kilns” porcelains of the Song Dynasty, famous for its delicate sky-blue glaze and precious status in Chinese ceramic history.