CHINESE EGGSHELL VINTAGE PORCELAIN TEA CUP

This Magnificent Eggshell Tea Bowl or Tea Cup Is Opulence Galore! The Scene varies all the way around the bowl. There are several different scenes as we turn the cup from front to back, as illustrated in the various accompanying photos. The colors are exquisite soft pastels of blue, pink, yellow and mauve. It is hand painted in some of the celadon colors on a paper thin porcelain body which is known as “eggshell”.

This Dainty Tea Bowl or Tea Cup Is Exquisitely Executed Upon An “Eggshell” Porcelain Medium. It Is Hand Painted Depicting A Chinese Woman & Chinese Man Holding A Large Pomegranate Between Them. On The Opposite Side, They Carry A Basket That Is Filled With Pomegranates. The Cup Stands 3 1/2" High and Has A Diameter of 3”.

COMMENT: For A Connoisseur Of Fine Porcelains, This Chinese Eggshell Cup Can Certainly Accommodate A Place In Ones Great Porcelain Collection! What A Classy Gift For A Friend Who Loves Classy Dainty Porcelain!

CONDITION: Excellent!

HISTORY OF EGGSHELL PORCELAIN

Eggshell Porcelain has been produced for centuries and was only produced for the affluent or wealthy strictly for display purposes. Because of the paper thinness of Eggshell Porcelain, it was referred to as the “bodiless ware”. It is so paper thin that any sudden amount of impact or extreme fluctuation of temperature (hot or cold) could shatter it. This is one reason why this porcelain is not cheap to produce and the other is that it is painstakingly hand painted with great precision to the point that some of the painters went blind over the years from doing such fine detailed work on a repeated basis. Such incidence was also the case with many of the English Royal Crown Derby painters who also were renowned for detailed porcelain painting.

The production of modern eggshell porcelain began approximately 1915 during the Hongxian Period (1915-1916). During 1920-1930 eggshell porcelain became an important part of production in Jingdezhen. This eggshell porcelain took a hit when during WW II the Japanese conquered Jingdezhen in 1937 after a surprise attack on Shanghai in 1932, the most integral export harbor city in China.