Jingdezhen Hand-Painted Underglaze Golden Dragon-Turtle Pu-erh Cup 100ml

Product Specifications

Capacity: 100ml

Diameter: 9.8cm

Height: 3.5cm

Material: Jingdezhen Kaolin Clay

Food Safe: Yes

Packaging: Premium gift box

The Myth: Bixia, the Dragon Who Carries Mountains

In the vast cosmology of Chinese mythology, the Dragon King fathered nine sons, each gifted with a distinct form and purpose. Among them, Bixia (霸下)—also known as the Dragon-Turtle—stands as the most formidable . With the mighty head of a dragon and the unshakable body of a turtle, Bixia was charged with carrying the weight of the world upon his back . Legends tell that he once bore the Five Sacred Mountains across rivers and seas, his strength ensuring the very stability of the land .

It is this very quality—unwavering strength and permanence—that made the Dragon-Turtle a favored guardian in imperial China. Walk through the Forbidden City, and you will find his stone effigies supporting colossal steles, memorial pillars, and the foundations of dynastic power . His presence whispers a single promise: this place, this realm, shall not fall .

The Design: A Universe in a Cup

This exceptional Pu-erh cup captures that cosmic guardianship within its curved walls. On the interior base, a magnificent Dragon-Turtle is rendered in luminous underglaze golden cobalt—a rare and technically demanding variant of traditional blue-and-white that achieves warm, metallic tones through precise firing control . The creature emerges from the porcelain depths: dragon head turned in watchful gaze, armored shell bearing the texture of ancient stone, limbs planted with the stillness of mountains .

Around the exterior, a continuous band of ocean waves rolls and crashes—a dynamic counterpoint to the interior's quiet power . These waves, painted in deep underglaze blue, reference both the mythical waters Bixia once traversed and the tea itself, which begins as leaf and becomes liquid . The juxtaposition of inner stillness and outer movement creates a visual meditation on the relationship between stability and flow—the very essence of tea practice .

The Craft: Jingdezhen Mastery

Executed by skilled hands in Jingdezhen's renowned kilns, each cup begins as refined kaolin clay, thrown and trimmed to precise proportions . The decoration is entirely hand-painted underglaze—every scale of the turtle, every crest of every wave, applied with brushes that carry centuries of accumulated technique. The golden cobalt, a signature innovation, requires exceptional control: fired at high temperature beneath a protective transparent layer, its warm tones emerge only when kiln atmosphere, pigment density, and firing curve achieve perfect harmony .

The Form: Built for Pu-erh

Designed specifically for the demands of Pu-erh tea, the cup features:

- Generous capacity allowing aged teas room to breathe

- Wide mouth facilitating rapid cooling and aroma release

- Thick walls maintaining stable temperature while feeling substantial in the hand