Jingdezhen Antique-Style Hand-Painted Wood-Fired Blue & White Sancai Gaiwan – Bats & Gourds Motif

Originating from Jingdezhen, this Sancai Gaiwan (a traditional three-piece tea vessel consisting of a lid, bowl, and saucer) features a dignified and voluminous silhouette. With a 9.0 cm bowl diameter, it is expertly designed for optimal heat retention and aroma concentration. Completely enveloped in intricate indigo patterns, this piece presents a visually striking, full-coverage aesthetic. It serves as both a substantial, highly functional brewing vessel and a collectible miniature archive showcasing classic traditional designs and profound blessings.

Motif & Technique: Full-Coverage Bats, Gourds, and Endless Vines 
A closer look reveals an elaborate, full-coverage (满绘 - Manhui) motif classically known as "Fulu Wandai" (Bats, Gourds, and Endless Vines). In traditional Chinese iconography, the bat (蝙蝠 - bianfu) is a homophone for fortune (福), and the gourd (葫芦 - hulu) sounds like prosperity and wealth (福禄). The intertwining, continuous vines connecting them represent endless generations and eternal vitality.
By employing a highly time-consuming full-coverage painting technique, the artisan allows these auspicious totems to completely envelop the surface of the lid, bowl, and saucer. Every vine, leaf, and gourd is meticulously hand-painted stroke by stroke. This creates a sense of structured abundance—the rhythmic, geometric flow of the vines perfectly balances the organic shapes of the gourds, resulting in a design rich in visual texture and timeless classical beauty.

Craftsmanship: Traditional Pine Wood-Fired Kiln (Chai Yao) 
This piece is fired using the most traditional wood-firing kilns (柴窑) in Jingdezhen. The unfired vessel is placed securely inside a saggar (a protective ceramic box) and fired using pure pine wood. Kiln masters rely on decades of experience, manually adding wood to control the temperature, which eventually peaks at 1300°C.
Unlike the predictable and uniform heating curves of modern gas kilns, a wood-fired kiln produces a natural, rhythmic temperature variation. During the intense heat, the volatilized oils from the pine wood interact with the porcelain glaze. This distinct reaction grants the porcelain an exceptionally antiqued, deeply lustrous, and "oily" finish. It is this warm, jade-like texture that makes authentic wood-fired pieces irreplaceable.

Material & Craft Specifications
Origin: Jingdezhen, China
Shaping Technique: Fully hand-thrown and hand-trimmed on the potter's wheel
Clay Body: Premium raw ore antique-style clay (a traditional blend of porcelain stone and kaolin)
Pigment: Raw ore antique-style cobalt blue pigment
Decoration: Fully hand-painted motifs (featuring full-surface coverage)
Glaze: Raw ore transparent glaze

Specifications
Bowl Diameter: 9.0 cm
Bowl Height: 7.7 cm
Capacity: 120 ml
Saucer Diameter: 11.5 cm
Saucer Height: 2.5 cm