Jingdezhen Hand-Painted "Shangri-La" Gaiwan

Jingdezhen Hand-Painted "Shangri-La" Gaiwan(Approx. 100 ml)
Dimensions: 4" wide x 3.75" tall

The Shangri-La Gaiwans are the artist’s most dreamlike and narrative-driven interpretation of qinghua glazing—an imagined world rendered in soft tones, gentle motion, and storybook symbolism. Hand-crafted and hand-painted in Jingdezhen, each gaiwan draws from centuries-old cobalt underglaze tradition while shifting the mood away from depth and weight toward lightness, calm, and quiet wonder.

Unlike her other works like Jingdezhen "Cerulean Tales" Qinghua Gaiwan or Jingdezhen "Eastern Storks" Qinghua Gaiwans that lean into bold blues, this collection is built on a soft satin off-white glaze that feels soft and velvety both visually and in the hand. The surface has a subtle, muted glow—neither glossy nor flat—creating an inviting, almost cloudlike softness that sets the stage for the imagery above it.

The Shangri-La series includes two distinct interpretations, each telling its own story.

The first, “Mystic Hare,” features a luminous blue hare nestled among dreamlike pink clouds, winding vines, and budding flowers. The composition feels lifted from a picture book or a painted vision of paradise—gentle, whimsical, and slightly surreal. 

The second, “Rising Phoenix,” takes on a more restrained and classical tone. A phoenix ascends among flowers and falling petals, painted entirely in single-tone qinghua cobalt blue atop the off-white glaze. The effect feels closer to an illustration from a hand-painted scroll—elegant, composed, and fluid—where movement is suggested through line and spacing rather than color contrast. 

Both gaiwans share the same storybook sensibility, but express it differently: one through soft color and fantasy, the other through lines and rhythm. 

As with all of the artist’s work, every gaiwan is entirely hand-painted, and no two pieces are ever exactly alike. Variations in brushwork, spacing, and tone ensure that even similar scenes carry their own character, making each gaiwan truly one of a kind.