Twelve Flower Goddesses Cup – August Crape Myrtle – Diaochan 貂蟬

AUGUST CRAPE MYRTLE · DIAOCHAN 貂蟬

August welcomes the crape myrtle — delicate, graceful, and quietly resilient through the long summer. Its clusters of blossoms bring softness and color to the season, while the strength beneath them allows the flower to endure long after more fleeting blooms have faded.

Diaochan 貂蟬 is remembered in Chinese literary tradition as one of the legendary Four Beauties. Yet beyond her celebrated beauty, her story has come to represent intelligence, courage, and the ability to remain composed in a world shaped by conflict and uncertainty.

That spirit finds a natural reflection in the crape myrtle. Delicate blossoms gather upon strong branches, creating a graceful contrast between softness and resilience — beauty that carries quiet strength within.

In this sculptural Liuli cup and saucer, soft pink blossoms meet fresh translucent green. As light moves through the Liuli, subtle layers of color and transparency emerge, creating a composition that feels graceful, luminous, and refined.

More than a cup, it is a reminder that strength does not always need to announce itself — it can live quietly behind grace, clarity, and the wisdom to know when to speak and when to wait.

FOR DESIGNERS

A refined accent for tea rooms, reading corners, private studies, dining spaces, console tables, entry displays, display cabinetry, hospitality suites, hotel interiors, and curated gallery spaces. Its sculptural crape myrtle form works especially well where natural or ambient light can reveal the depth and translucency of the Liuli.

The soft pink blossoms and fresh green palette bring a graceful point of color to an interior, pairing naturally with wood, stone, glass, and restrained neutral materials while creating a delicate yet distinctive presence within the surrounding space.

THE ART OF LIULI

Created through an intricate lost-wax casting process, each piece begins with its own mold. After the wax is removed and the Liuli undergoes high-temperature forming, the outer mold must be broken away before the piece can be carefully refined, ground, and polished. Because of this process, small variations may appear from piece to piece. Subtle natural bubbles and gentle flowing patterns may also appear within the Liuli. These are characteristic of the making process and contribute to the individual character of each piece, rather than being considered defects.

One mold. One piece.

The colors are not painted onto the finished surface.

They are formed within the Liuli during the high-temperature process, becoming part of the material itself. As light passes through different colors and depths of Liuli, subtle variations in transparency and tone reveal the sculptural layers of the crape myrtle blossoms.

Because of this process, small variations may appear from piece to piece. These are part of the character of the making, giving each finished work its own individual presence.

Perhaps it becomes part of a quiet morning tea, an afternoon coffee beside a favorite book, or simply a beautiful object catching the light and bringing a graceful moment of calm into the day.

Twelve months. Twelve flowers. Twelve women. Twelve stories to carry with us.

Hold a flower, remember a story.