Craftsman recreates eggshell black pottery goblet which is just 0.1 millimeters at its thinnest point

Photo shows an eggshell black pottery goblet created by Liu Jinbo. (Photo courtesy of the Black Pottery Art Gallery in Jiaozhou city)

An eggshell black pottery goblet, which is only 0.1 millimeters at the thinnest point of its body and weighs less than 40 grams, was recently recreated by a craftsman from east China's Shandong Province. The art of making such a handicraft has been lost for over 4,000 years.

The eggshell black pottery, as a representative art form of the Longshan Culture, a late Neolithic civilization in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River, is regarded as "the most delicate work of art in the world 4,000 years ago," representing the best technique for pottery making in China. Since there are no historical records regarding the craft, it is very difficult for modern-day craftsmen to make eggshell black pottery handicrafts and to recreate the artifacts.

Liu Jinbo works on an eggshell black pottery goblet. (Photo courtesy of the Black Pottery Art Gallery in Jiaozhou city)

"We've been devoting ourselves to the craft since 2000, and in 2006 we succeeded in recreating the first eggshell black pottery goblet," said Liu Jinbo, the craftsman who succeeded in recreating the goblet.

Liu, 53, curator of the Black Pottery Art Gallery in Jiaozhou city, Shandong, has been engaged in the craft for over 30 years.

After successfully recreating the eggshell black pottery goblet, Liu has continuously improved his skills in modifying the moulds and drying the pottery objects, eventually being able to accomplish the task of reducing the thickness of the handicraft to 0.1 millimeters at the thinnest point of its body.