Mulao

Tea

煤砂罐 méishāguàn — Mulao coal-clay cookware. In Luocheng Mulao Autonomous County, coal has been mined since the early Song, and by the Ming and Qing it was used for heating and warmth; iron and copper were corroded by coal sulfur, so pots began to be shaped from coal shale and local white clay, and among the two dozen forms, the large and medium 牛头罐 are listed separately — those in which TEA WATER IS BOILED. The craft was added to the autonomous region’s intangible heritage list in May 2012. The plot enters the line on two grounds at once: fuel under the pot and water vessel.

Crown growth

A short clay neck set on the crown: narrow at the top and CLEARLY flaring downward with a wide turned-out lip, the wall concave, matte firing, a dark fire mark on the lip, a whitish crusted band along the rim, and a handful of dark tea leaves visible inside the mouth. The form is taken from a pot’s mouth, not from the animal whose name the form bears. It differs from the Russians’ bent pipe in its concave clay flare widening downward, as opposed to a hollow tin elbow with a kink; from the Tatars’ weight — in that there the body is solid and the side convex, here it is a hollow neck with an open mouth and concave wall.

Headdress

A soft bag-cap of homespun 土布, repeatedly dyed with indigo to near-black (canvas dyeing in Luocheng has been an autonomous region heritage item since 2016). No brim and no stiff crown: the bag settles back and to one side in a single smooth volume, staying below the crown line, the fabric in fine creases, with charcoal smudges along the lower edge. The slit for the neck is on the top of the head, its edge overcast three times against burning through.

Outline at 6 mm. A soft bag, entirely BELOW the crown line: the fabric settles to the side and back in one smooth volume, and no point of it rises above the skull. The tall sloping tower with a wide band onto the shoulder is worn by the Dai — there the mass sits ABOVE the head and extends onto the shoulder; here nothing goes upward and nothing rests on the shoulders. It differs from Zhunya in the absence of a stiff cylinder and turn-back cuff; from Ugolek — in that this is not a pointed hood falling onto the shoulders but a sagging bag with no point; from Suncha — in that the surface is smooth fabric and the lower edge is evenly cut, whereas that one is a shaggy fibrous mass with a torn edge; from the Tatars — in that the form is soft and settles sideways in folds rather than standing as a stiff cone strictly backward.

Clothing

Dark canvas jacket with charcoal marks on the sleeves, leather potter’s apron, rolled-up trousers.

Palette

Near-black indigo canvas, charcoal soot, gray-brown clay firing, whitish crusted band.