Blue and White with Underglaze Red Entwined Louts Sets

$744.99

This Gaiwan and teapot saucer set is entirely handcrafted using the blue-and-white with underglaze red technique. The decoration features the classic “Entwined Lotus” motif.

The entwined lotus pattern — “flowers within flowers, blooms among leaves” — is also known as the “Longevity Vine” in Chinese tradition. It symbolises auspiciousness, and its continuous, interwoven structure conveys the meaning of “endless vitality.” In traditional Confucian culture, the lotus is regarded as the embodiment of truth, goodness, and beauty, and in Buddhism, it is a sacred emblem. The word “lotus” (莲, lián) is a homophone of “continuous” (连, lián), expressing wishes for enduring prosperity. The entwined lotus motif, preserved through centuries of Chinese decorative arts, owes its survival to both its beauty and its rich cultural connotations. The lotus is pure and elegant — beautiful without being gaudy, graceful without being vulgar — making it an enduring symbol in art and daily life.

The blue-and-white with underglaze red technique, known colloquially as “blue and white with purple,” is a porcelain decoration method in which underglaze red is applied alongside blue-and-white patterns. Blue-and-white refers to designs painted with cobalt pigment, covered with a transparent glaze, and fired in a reducing atmosphere above 1200 °C. Underglaze red uses copper oxide (cupric) pigment applied directly to the clay body (or over a base glaze), then covered with a glaze and fired in a strong reducing atmosphere at 1250 °C–1280 °C, producing a vivid yet restrained red. In areas left blank in the blue-and-white pattern, underglaze red may be painted, creating the distinctive combined style.

Producing blue-and-white with underglaze red porcelain is highly challenging. In ancient times, some artisans ruined themselves financially attempting to perfect it. The process requires painting with both cobalt and copper pigments on the same porcelain body, glazing, and firing at high temperatures in a reducing atmosphere. Because cobalt and copper reduce at different temperature ranges, precise control is extremely difficult, and successful pieces are rare. A common flaw is “red bleeding,” where the pigments merge or blur, diminishing clarity.

When executed successfully, this combination of blue, red, and white achieves a striking artistic harmony, elevating porcelain decoration to a new level of refinement.

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