Moon Halo

Double-Sided Underglaze Earrings with Liquid Gold Detailing

Product Description

A ring of light around the moon — soft blue dissolving into violet, a breath of white at the center.

Moon Halo is a circle of white clay, painted on both faces with underglaze pigments dabbed layer upon layer — pale blue, cobalt, touches of pink-violet, a drift of white — until the surface holds something like a watercolor that has dried on stone. There is no glaze. The pigments are fired directly into the clay body at high temperature, fusing with it permanently, but the surface remains matte and porous, soft to the eye in a way that glazed ceramics can never be. Both sides carry the same painting — the same hand, the same layers, the same moonlight. There is no front or back; only whichever side the light finds first.

A thin line of liquid gold traces the inner and outer edges, giving the circle its boundary and its precision. The ear fitting is sterling silver plated in gold — a quiet upgrade for a piece that sits close to the skin.

Key Features

• Double-sided underglaze painting — Both faces carry identical hand-dotted underglaze compositions; blue, violet, and white layers like moonlight through the clouds
• Unglazed matte surface — No transparent glaze applied; underglaze pigments fired directly into the clay body, producing a soft, watercolor-like matte finish
• Multiple-layer dotting technique — Colors built up through repeated hand-dabbing, each layer altering the one beneath; the result is depth without gloss
• Liquid gold detailing — Inner and outer edges hand-traced with liquid gold, low-temperature baked (700–850°C)
• Sterling silver gold-plated fitting — S925 silver ear post with gold plating, gentle on sensitive skin

Materials & Specifications

Technique Heritage

• Underglaze on Unglazed Body  — A deliberate departure from conventional underglaze practice, which typically seals the pigment beneath a transparent glaze. Here, underglaze pigments are hand-dabbed onto the white clay in multiple layers and high-fired without any glaze covering. The pigments fuse directly into the clay body, becoming permanent, while the surface retains a matte, porous quality — soft, tactile, and alive in a way that glazed surfaces cannot replicate. The absence of glaze allows the colors to breathe: they hold their depth but scatter light gently, like paint on handmade paper.
• Double-Sided Painting  — Both faces of the ring are painted identically — the same composition, the same layering, the same hand. This demands the artisan to repeat a complex, multi-layered process on a second surface without the guidance of the first. The result is an earring with no "back" — every angle is the front.
• Liquid Gold Detailing  — Liquid gold is hand-painted onto the already-fired surface and baked at 700–850°C. During baking, the organic resin in the gold liquid burns away, leaving a thin metallic film bonded to the surface — the same finishing technique found on Meissen, Hermès tableware, and Royal Copenhagen.

Care

• Avoid direct contact with perfume, lotion, or chemicals
• The unglazed surface is more porous than glazed ceramic; handle with dry, clean hands
• Store separately to prevent staining or scratching
• Remove before swimming or bathing
• Clean gently with a soft dry cloth; do not submerge in water for extended periods 

Part of the TaoTianXia collection — entirely handcrafted in Jingdezhen, each piece one of a kind. Our ceramic artistry has been chosen for diplomatic gifting, trusted by over 70 Fortune Global 500 companies, and featured at New York's Grand Central Terminal.