new blanc de chine cups

There’s something about original chinese blanc de chine.. It’s thick, soapy, opaque but somehow glimmering and delicate at the same time. You have to handle it, to hold it up to the light, feel its weight, to really be captivated. I still regret not buying one – cracked so affordable – in a fantastic antique china shop opposite the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge.The shape mimics horn cups – asymmetrically curved.
I’ve been making my own versions for a while, to try and get the texture and colour. The shape is regular, because thrown: I think next time I’ll deform it (like I do the oysters), making it more asymmetric. On the chinese one, the attached sprig is prunus – cherry blossom. I’m not sure yet whether to try sprigs or perhaps twigs.
Early french china often copied blanc-de-chine – like this Saint-Cloud cup and saucer. It’s unusual to see white-on-white decoration, but it looks surprisingly modern…

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