Single-Handled Cup of the Late Longshan Culture｜Echoes of Vessel and Fire

Cups from the late Longshan culture
are distinguished by their slender waists,
flaring rims, and remarkably thin walls.
They are not merely everyday utensils,
but evidence of an aesthetic turning toward refinement and proportion.

This single-handled cup draws directly from that lineage.
Its outward-flaring rim lends the form an upright tension;
its gently constricted waist creates
a quiet rhythm of gathering and release—
a structural breath.

The solitary side handle, seemingly simple,
is one of the most recognizable motifs of Longshan pottery:
a functional extension, and a point of cadence in the form.

When the ancient silhouette meets the density of zisha clay,
and enters a wood-fired kiln for three days and nights,
a new dialogue begins among material, flame, and time.
The compact, sandy nature of the clay grants the form new weight,
while fire, ash, and heat bestow textures that cannot be replicated.

The fire color is understated—
tranquil transitions of deep brown, smoky violet, and muted grey.
Subtle fire marks settle lightly,
like a thin layer of time upon the surface.
Inside, the tone deepens,
revealing the inward pull of the flame.

This work is an overlap of the ancient and the present:
the form inherited from Longshan,
the body shaped in zisha,
the spirit conferred by fire.

What emerges is not a mere continuation of an archaeological type,
but a vessel whose essence has been reconfirmed by flame—
its single handle, flared rim, slender posture, and quiet presence
all acquiring new meaning through fire.

It is a cup,
and also an ancient line breathing anew in our time.