This elongated pitcher with a silky-smooth, just off-white glaze feels extremely comfortable in the hand. A careful, tapering shaping has kept the base thicker and more insulating while the thin rim appears more refined and offers good pour control. With merely four thin lines up the side terminating in hand-cut notches, the artist has transported a classical motif into a simplified vernacular—the mouth meant to evoke an opening sunflower—to allow pairing with both ornate and minimal teaware.

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.