Blue Rainbow Gaiwan

This gaiwan is part of a new line of teaware from Liu Shisan, a pottery artist in Jingdezhen known for his creativity and expressive style. This style is also at work here—he took inspiration from ceramics that were popular during the Song dynasty and added modern elements to them to produce teaware that is striking, both in terms of shape and the motives that are drawn on it.

The motif featured on this gaiwan is one of rainbows peeking out in front of a cloudy sky. Compared to the other items in this collection, this one comes with thinner lines that leave more room for the material and the speckled glaze to shine. Its unconventional, rustic shape further supports this warm and earthy impression that invokes a sense of comfort reminiscent of a hot meal after a cold day. The wide rim and prominent lid knob provide the same comfort when using this gaiwan, making it pleasant to hold without scalding your fingers. The perfect vessel for teas that want to be steeped for a long time, but great with any kind of tea.

The Fenghuang cup and the Monk cup, along with the Dragon Son gaiwan and pitcher, and Fenghuang plate round out this collection to provide you with a full tea set’s worth of Liu Shisan’s artistry.

Please note that all items in this collection are fully handmade, so there will be some variation with regards to size, shape, and glazing.

Written by Sigi

About the Artist

We've already featured the work of Liu Shisan, whose rough, expressive work we discovered and admired on a teaware-sourcing trip to 'the Porcelain Capital' of Jingdezhen. He forms his pieces by hand, on the wheel, but it's the tweaks, pinches, and strokes that give his pieces a larger-than-life character; his pitchers are particularly unique. We paid him another visit in 2024 and got a tour of his studio: