Peach blossom gaiwan, pink

Like a good wish to its beholder, the artist has drawn up her joys of last year in this gaiwan. It may be the translucent pink glaze, as whimsical as watercolor on paper, that conveys its goodwill, or the hand-carved emblem of a peach blossom on the lid. The color gathers in a pool on top of the knob, before washing over its plump body in a soft sketch that highlights the texture of the material. Despite its somewhat dainty features, the gaiwan serves a decent round of tea, concealing its true volume in the thin walls and oblong form, a signature of the artist's studio. Jingdenzhen porcelain has been known to be "as clear as the sky, as white as jade, and as bright as a mirror", and for this piece we may add ‘as lovely as the dawn’.

About the artist

Li Siqi is an emerging Jingdezhen potter. After graduating from the Fine Arts Department of Jiangxi Normal University, she spent half a year practicing ceramics at kilns in the southwest of China with a focus on sculpture and pottery. She fell in love with celadon and the Hutian kiln* (湖田窑), a famous kiln of the Song Dynasty, and has devoted herself to exploring the history of the craft.
In 2018, she established Qiwei (lit. ‘seven flavors’) Ceramics Studio in Jingdezhen, the capital of porcelain. It continues to inherit from the classic kilns, combining Song Dynasty gracefulness (Song Yun (宋韵), lit. ‘Song rhyme’) with modern lifestyles to create teaware with a historical touch for elegant yet practical chaxi.

*Hutian kiln is located is located in the Hutian Village, a suburb of Jingdezhen. The Hutian porcelain wares of the Song Dynasty (960-1279) were mainly decorated with fine patterns and made into beautiful shapes.