NATURE Porcelain Mug, Leaves, 300ml

At a glance

• Blue underglaze and red overglaze are fired separately, giving the leaf pattern visible depth
• 300ml size for a generous tea, coffee, hot chocolate or small serving of soup
• Hand-painted finish means subtle variation from one mug to another

The pattern on this mug has more depth than it first appears to.

KIHARA creates the NATURE design in stages. Blue gosu is painted onto the bisque-fired porcelain before glazing and high firing. Red decoration is then added over the glaze and fired again at a lower temperature. Because the two colours sit at different layers of the finished surface, the leaf pattern gains a subtle three-dimensional quality rather than reading as one flat print.

The leaves spread freely around the white porcelain body, with the red and blue giving the pattern plenty of presence without covering the whole mug. As the decoration is finished by hand, small differences in colour and placement are part of the character of each piece.

At 300ml, it is generous enough for tea, coffee or hot chocolate without becoming oversized. The form also works for a small serving of soup, giving it a little more flexibility than a conventional mug.

If you prefer the same technique in a quieter design, the NATURE Stripe mug uses the same red and blue decoration with a more restrained geometric pattern.