Jun Harmony Crab Cup

This is the Jun porcelain (钧瓷) Harmony Cup: a 100 ml purple-toned cup and scalloped saucer from Shenhou, with a crab modelled inside the bowl.

The purple transmutation glaze across the cup sits against the deeper tones of the saucer. Because the colour is made in the kiln rather than painted, the depth of purple varies from cup to cup.

Kiln transmutation: why no two pieces are alike

Jun ware (钧瓷) is one of the Five Great Kilns of the Song dynasty, named alongside Ru, Guan, Ge and Ding. It is still fired at Shenhou, the kiln town in Yuzhou, Henan that has produced it for roughly a thousand years. A Jun glaze is not painted on: copper and iron oxides suspended in the glaze re-form during firing, and the colour that emerges depends on the temperature, the kiln atmosphere and where the piece happened to stand. Potters sum it up as 入窑一色，出窑万彩 — one colour goes into the kiln, ten thousand come out.

That is also why the piece you receive will not match the photographs exactly. In the maker’s own words, differences in colour and pattern between pieces are natural kiln transmutation (窑变), not a fault.

The Harmony Cup and the Zhou Bridge floating crab

The maker presents the Harmony Cup (和谐杯) as a recreation of the Kaifeng “Zhou Bridge floating crab” cup (州桥浮蟹杯). A crab is modelled in relief in the bottom of the bowl, so that once tea is poured the shell appears to float just below the surface. 和谐 means harmony. In a gongfu tea setting a cup like this is the 主人杯 — the host’s own cup, kept apart from the guest cups.

Specifications

All dimensions are the supplier’s own hand measurements and can vary by about 1 cm.

Care

These instructions are translated from the maker’s own care sheet. Before first use, rinse the inside of the piece with warm water to clear any kiln ash. Rinse it again soon after drinking rather than leaving tea standing in it.

Wash by hand, one piece at a time, and never stack pieces inside one another. Do not use a dishwasher, steel wool, or strongly acidic or alkaline cleaners; for stubborn tea staining the maker suggests a little toothpaste or a dedicated teaware cleaner. Use a tea towel and coasters, and store the pieces apart, padded with a soft cloth, rather than knocking together in a cupboard.

Frequently asked questions

Will the glaze look exactly like the photographs?

No, and it is not meant to. Jun glaze colour is created by kiln transmutation (窑变) rather than painted on, so every firing lands somewhere different. The maker states plainly that differences in colour and pattern between pieces are a natural result of the process and not a quality fault. The photographs show the piece the supplier fired; yours will be recognisably the same object in a glaze of its own.

What is Jun porcelain?

Jun ware (钧瓷) is one of the Five Great Kilns of the Song dynasty, alongside Ru, Guan, Ge and Ding. It is defined by a thick, opalescent glaze containing copper and iron that re-forms in the kiln into blues, purples and reds. It has been fired at Shenhou in Yuzhou, Henan for roughly a thousand years, and this piece is made there.

What size is it?

Capacity is about 100 ml. These are the maker’s own hand measurements, so allow about a centimetre either way.

How do I look after it?

Rinse the inside with warm water before first use to clear any kiln ash, then rinse again soon after drinking rather than letting tea stand. Wash by hand, one piece at a time, and never stack pieces. No dishwasher, no steel wool, no strong acid or alkali cleaners. For stubborn tea staining the maker suggests a little toothpaste or a dedicated teaware cleaner.

Do you have a food-contact safety certificate for it?

No. The maker supplies this as teaware and provides brewing care instructions, but we have not been given a laboratory food-contact test report, so we are not going to claim one. If a certificate matters to you, ask us before ordering and we will request it from the kiln.

What is the crab inside the cup?

It is a crab modelled in relief in the bottom of the bowl. The maker presents the Harmony Cup (和谐杯) as a recreation of the Kaifeng “Zhou Bridge floating crab” cup (州桥浮蟹杯): once tea is poured, the shell appears to float just under the surface. It is part of the cup, not an accessory, and it cannot be removed.

Where is it made?

At Shenhou, Yuzhou, Henan, China. Shenhou is the kiln town in Yuzhou that Jun ware has been fired in since the Song dynasty; it is still where the kilns are.

Explore

The Jun porcelain series · Jun porcelain teaware

Related pieces: Blue & White Harmony Crab Cup · Ru Style Harmony Crab Cup · Ge Style Harmony Crab Cup · Guan Style Harmony Crab Cup · Harmony Crab Cup Collection