Jingdezhen Antique-Style Hand-Painted Wood-Fired Blue & White Sancai Gaiwan – Scattered Medallion & Eight Treasures Motif

Overview Originating from Jingdezhen, this Sancai Gaiwan (a traditional three-piece tea vessel consisting of a lid, bowl, and saucer) features a classic, well-proportioned silhouette. The piece presents a calm, restrained aesthetic with deep, stable indigo tones, making it both a highly functional brewing vessel and a collectible miniature archive showcasing classical composition aesthetics.

Motif: Scattered Medallion & Eight Treasures 
A closer look at the vessel reveals the highly esteemed "Scattered Medallion and Eight Treasures" (皮球八宝) motif. The "Piqiu Hua" (literally "Marbled Ball" or floral medallion) is a classic imperial design featuring circular, intricately patterned medallions scattered asymmetrically across the surface. This irregular, rhythmic placement breaks away from rigid traditional symmetry, introducing a dynamic, lively, and surprisingly modern sense of spatial arrangement.
Interspersed among these medallions are the traditional "Eight Treasures" (such as archaic books bound with ribbons, artemisia leaves, and lozenges), which symbolize wisdom, good fortune, and auspiciousness. Every detail is meticulously hand-painted stroke by stroke, creating a perfect visual balance between the structured geometric outlines of the medallions and the organic flow of the auspicious objects.

Craftsmanship: Traditional Pine Wood-Fired Kiln (Chai Yao) 
This piece is fired using the most traditional wood-firing kilns (柴窑) in Jingdezhen. The 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 porcelain 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
Glaze: Raw ore transparent glaze

Specifications
Bowl Diameter: 9.1 cm
Overall Height (with lid and saucer): 9.9 cm
Capacity: 125 ml
Saucer Diameter: 12.8 cm
Saucer Height: Approx. 2.8 cm (Estimated)