Antique tea cup

Description

This beautiful tea cup was decorated by hand. If you notice there is no repetition of the pattern. The process used acid to create the detail. First the whole cup was covered with asphaltum, a black pitch-like substance that dries and is impervious to acid. Then the design was scratched onto the cup to remove the asphaltum, creating the pattern design. The cup was then placed in an acid bath to remove the shiny glaze where there was no asphaltum. Where the asphaltum remained the glaze remained shiny. The asphaltum was removed and the design was in white on the cup showing a dull texture and raised shiny pattern. The cup was then painted with 22K gold and fired in a kiln at the proper temperature to a fix the gold. A second coat of gold was probably applied since the finish is so perfect.