Handmade Jianyang Jianzhan Tea Cup – Butterfly

Jian ware represents the pinnacle of ancient Chinese black porcelain, and it is also a pottery art that combines earth and fire. Using the clay and glaze with rich iron in Jianyang as raw material, it has to process 13 classical Chinese traditional handicrafts such as selecting porcelain and setting cup-model. It’s gorgeous pattern is naturally produced in a kiln where to be fired in 1300℃ high temperature. Therefore, each cup is a unique "orphan" under uncontrollable situation, which is also the distinctive charm of Jianzhan.

This Jianzhan is mainly composed of the blue obsidian glaze, uniform in glaze and clear in texture, and there will be a gleaming metallic brilliance in the sun. It also has a big capacity and can fulfill all of your tea demands.

You Renjun is a national first-level and senior technician in the national ceramics profession, a ceramic crafts artist, and also a director of the Nanping Arts and Crafts Association in Fujian Province. His Yaobian Jianzhan related works have won numerous awards and are deeply loved by Jianzhan fans. Among them, the peacock feather Jianzhan cup has won awards in many competitions and is also collected by the Nanping Museum.

It is heavy, feeling dense and thick when held; the large mouth of the cup makes it convenient and easy to watch the tea soup; the original glazed color of the material is black, bringing out the color of the tea; and when using Jianzhan for the first time, there is no need to “season” the material like with Zisha teapots. The ashy, earthy smell of the kiln can be cleaned off with fresh, warm water, and then after a boiling rinse of a few minutes, the cup is ready to use.

Jianzhan is a well-known Chinese porcelain of the Han nationality. It is one of the eight famous porcelain types of the Song dynasty, tracing back further than a thousand years; it takes its name from its origin of Jian An county during that time. Scholars and tea drinkers during the time period strongly advocated the comparison of different tea types, and as such required tea sets of a high quality along with the tea itself. Jianzhan has dense, tight pores conducive to the retention of heat, making it appropriate for this use.

In 2011, the workmanship of Jianzhan crafting was included on the list of national intangible cultural heritage.