[清本源 x Gohobi Gallery] Thin-Body Gaiwan with Inner-Impressed Rubbing Print and Kintsugi Detailing – “Treasures of the Dragon Palace” Ingot Lid Form (140ml)

This thin-body gaiwan is a profound meditation on imperfection, endurance, and transformation, where classical narrative, aged imagery, and philosophical repair converge into a living tea vessel.

The inspiration comes from Journey to the West, an epic that itself unfolds through imperfection on the path toward fulfilment. Tang Monk’s rigid sincerity, Sun Wukong’s untamed defiance, and Pigsy’s greed and weakness are not flaws to be erased, but the very sources of their vitality. Ancient woodblock prints capture this spirit through sharp carving and tense lines, already carrying a sense of motion shaped by struggle and incompleteness.

In this piece, rubbing techniques faithfully transfer the traces of time embedded in those prints. Knife marks, softened contours, faded passages, and worn voids are revealed rather than corrected. Kintsugi then enters not as concealment, but as honest articulation. Gold is applied to acknowledge rupture openly, transforming damage into presence. The gaiwan thus becomes neither a flawless reproduction nor a relic frozen in the past, but a renewed body that carries time visibly within it.

Where imagery weakens or dissolves, gold lines gently reconnect form, much like restoring continuity without denying loss. In areas of greater absence, gold texture replaces reconstruction, allowing space for imagination. Clouds, water, and movement emerge where detail has vanished, turning deficiency into openness. Here, absence is not regret, but invitation—a place where the viewer completes the story inwardly.

In this context, kintsugi is not merely a decorative or restorative act, but a philosophical gesture. Gold does not mask imperfection; it illuminates it. It asserts that completeness is not the absence of cracks, but the ability to transform them. Just as the pilgrimage to retrieve the scriptures is marked by hardship, so too does the inheritance of cultural classics gain depth through visible passage of time.

The ingot-shaped lid adds a symbolic layer of grounding and abundance, while the thin porcelain body offers lightness and sensitivity to heat and touch. As tea is poured, ink, gold, and liquid interact subtly, allowing the imagery to shift and breathe, as though the Dragon Palace itself were stirring beneath the surface.

Diameter: 9.1 cm
Height: 8 cm
Capacity: 140 ml

The listed price is for one gaiwan. Each piece is individually handcrafted, and variations in rubbing texture, gold application, and translucency are part of its unique character. Customers are welcome to request a private video viewing for a closer look. Orders are shipped using reused or recycled packaging wherever possible.

A gaiwan shaped by time rather than perfection—where cracks become pathways, gold becomes witness, and each tea session reflects the enduring truth that true wholeness grows from what has once been broken.