This scalloped cup (set of two), resembling Taiwan’s national flower the plum blossom, is part of the Porcelain Bando dishware line by Anta Pottery 安達窯 in Yingge, Taiwan. The series invokes the forms of familiar disposable tableware used across Taiwan at roadside banquets (辦桌 bando in Taiwanese), street stalls, and restaurants. You may have also encountered this particular cup form in ice cream shops. Anta Pottery, owned by three sisters, has recreated these archetypes in slip-cast porcelain with modern casting techniques and traditional dipped glazes, drawing on two generations of craftsmanship.
Jade meets seafoam in one of Anta Pottery’s most sought-after glazes. This celadon took six years to perfect, resulting in a translucent glaze that pools beautifully in the ridges and edges of this design. The shade is quiet yet striking, with a glowing appearance characteristic of this traditional glaze. Natural color variations create a multi-toned effect. What was once a feather-light, disposable vessel takes on weight, permanence, and the aura of fine pottery.
We love this cup for drinking tea (someone in our office is always sipping from one), steaming egg custard, or assembling a soft serve sundae. Just like the plastic version, the porcelain vessel is meant to be used for both everyday dining and entertaining. Porcelain is among the strongest of traditional ceramics, and it is safe for use in ovens, Tatung steamers, microwaves, and dishwashers.
Available in a boxed set of two cups, in a bundle of two box sets, or in full two- to four-person sets with other serveware from the collection. Each ceramic is securely wrapped and packed into a visually serene, Anta-labeled box, ready for gifting.
Also comes in pink and white.
About the Bando Porcelain Line
This porcelain tableware collection, modeled after the iconic silhouettes of Taiwanese disposable tableware, was jointly created by Yingge-based pottery studio Anta Pottery 安達窯 and data science company RE:LAB, who polled thousands of Taiwanese customers to determine the final shape and color assortment of the collection.
Disposable dishes and utensils were
popularized in Taiwan in the 1970s and 80s as symbols of hygienic consumption, convenience, and affordability. They became indispensable to outdoor dining, making appearances at roadside banquets, market stalls, and even in restaurants.
Just as
red plastic stools have become fixtures of the Taiwanese streetscape, plastic tableware is integrated into the expression of everyday Taiwanese dining. Even with the scaling back of single-use plastics in Taiwan over the last two decades, the meanings attached to the forms of plastic dishware have not disappeared.
By trading in disposable plastic for reusable porcelain, Anta and RE:LAB intend to “preserve the shape of Taiwanese culture,” calcifying these shared memories of conviviality and opening another space for them at the table.
Instructions
Safe for use in ovens, Tatung steamers, microwaves, and dishwashers. Do not freeze or store at low temperature and then apply heat rapidly, as this may cause the product to crack.
Wash as soon as possible after use. Use a sponge, soft cloth, or mild detergent to avoid damaging the glaze. In the rare instance you experience any staining, soak in hot water with baking soda.
How It's Made
Every item in this line begins by injecting porcelain slip, a mixture of clay and water, under pressure into a porous mold. The mold absorbs the water from the slip, which firms up the clay. Once the shaped pieces have been carefully demolded, artisans leave them to air dry for one to three days. At this stage, the unfired pieces are known as greenware.
After drying, sharp edges are softened using a water-dipped sponge, then each piece is sent through the first fire, which bakes the item at 800°C to fix its shape. This is called the bisque firing (素燒), and the fired pieces are known as bisqueware.
Next, each piece is dipped into a deep pot of mineral-based glaze, a process called immersion glazing (浸釉). Artisans inspect every piece and fix any imperfections in the glaze by hand.
For the second and final fire, pink- and white-glazed wares are fired at 1230°C and celadon-glazed wares at 1260°C. Each item is left to cool to 100-200°C, about 24 hours, before being pulled out of the kiln.
Finally, the artisans will sand the foot ring on the bottom, then package.
About Anta Pottery
Anta Pottery 安達窯 is a family-owned pottery studio based in Yingge, a town widely recognized as the pottery capital of Taiwan. Founded in 1976, Anta takes its name from the Chinese baseball term 安打 (an da), meaning “safe hit” or, metaphorically, a win. Founder Sun Zhong-Jie 孫忠傑 started the business by making ceramic Buddha statues. Because of his expertise in finicky traditional glazes like Tenmoku (an iron-rich glaze in amber and black), he secured a deal with Nestlé to produce Tenmoku-glazed mugs to be sold with their instant coffee. From that point on, Anta expanded into tea and dining ware.
They are now renowned in Taiwan for specializing in the scaled production of traditionally glazed tableware, without sacrificing natural variation and handmade qualities. Getting to this point was not easy. They had to scale up clay handling and firing, and master working with mineral-based traditional glazes that are notoriously difficult because of their high sensitivity to factors like temperature and oxygen. Anta is particularly proud of their celadon glaze, which took six years to perfect.
Today, Anta is run by the second-generation sisters Sun Ying-Xin 孫盈馨, Sun Ruo-Ping 孫若屏, and Sun Zhu-Yi 孫筑怡. While their father still practices pottery, he mostly does so for fun, hand-shaping teapots into organic forms like bamboo stalks and pumpkins.
Specifications and Dimensions
Material: Porcelain
This product has passed SGS testing. It is lead and cadmium free. Slight variations in size and shape may occur in ceramic products due to shrinkage during firing.
Each box comes with two cups.
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Volume: 7.4 fl oz / 220 cc
Individual Cup Dimensions: 3.3” D x 3.7” H / 8.5 cm D x 9.5 cm H
Individual Cup Weight: 6.6 oz / 186 g
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Package Dimensions: 11.2” L x 5.7” W x 4.1” H / 28.4 cm L x 14.5 cm W x 10.4 cm H
Net Weight: 13.1 oz / 372 g
Gross Weight: 1.2 lbs / 560 g
