Mountain Is the Homeland of Clay

Long ago, people born on the plateau used pottery for cookware at home, with a set passed down through generations. They coexisted with heaven, earth, and nature with a reverent heart.

Everything for daily life was sourced locally, using mountain clay to create and continue pottery craftsmanship passed down through generations. Each lump of clay, each press of a finger, condenses nature's beauty in the heart and hands.

From the perspective of Wabi-sabi, simple and quiet things naturally reveal a beauty that is both rugged and delicate. "Wabi" refers to finding rustic beauty in simplicity and stillness, while "sabi" represents the luster an item acquires over time.

The characteristic of Tibetan black pottery lies in its texture, which has the artless, rustic feel of handwork. Its color is black with a metallic luster, like a light source shining through millennia.

The black pottery brand - Saso, transliterated from Tibetan "སའ་བཟོ།" (earth-made). A nomad dwells within Saso, kneading the nomad's spirit into the black pottery.

In 2021, at the invitation of the Development and Reform Bureau of Chindu County, Yushu, Qinghai, our team paid a visit to the region. After a series of craft surveys , we decided to create a collection of rural craft brands here.

"Mountain" is the source of clay, while "惢" resembles stacked "hearts" and carries the meaning of goodness in Chinese. Saso blends Wabi-sabi with nomadism, presenting the plateau's ancient elegance through the "Herding Silence" of black pottery.

Vessel, Light

Pottery is humanity's earliest container; clay is the foundation of life. A handful of clay, shaped by fire, becomes something simple and practical - carrying the ordinary warmth of a mother calling her child home. In the long river of material change, pottery remains the quiet, enduring earth. A black pottery cup, a bowl of clear water — this is solace, far from the noise.

Clay is taken from nature and returns to dust. Low-temperature clay is easy to obtain and shape, requires low firing energy, and is an environmentally friendly material.

Saso's black pottery is minimalist and authentic. With no unnecessary decoration and made in limited quantities, it is intended purely for daily use.

Black Pottery Craft

It is made from sticky plateau soil. The forming process involves sun-drying, crushing, mixing, fermenting, hand-building, polishing and drying, initial firing, main firing, smoking-black, and polishing. This specific method shapes the humble quality of black pottery. Its black metallic luster gives it a solemn and elegant texture.

Saso collaborates with multiple workshops across Tibet, respecting tradition while innovating with regional characteristics. By sharing artisans' stories, we spread Tibetan pottery culture, making hidden urban crafts visible and fostering exchange among potters everywhere.

Master Xie Getai

Founder of Banma Black Pottery, black pottery artisan, provincial-level intangible cultural heritage inheritor; head of the Black Pottery Entrepreneurship Park; 2017 National Rural Youth Prosperity Leader; 2020 recipient of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism's Rural Cultural Talent Support Project.

Behind all the labels, Master Xie Getai spent over a decade reviving the black pottery craft of this land from scratch. It has now grown into a workshop with over a dozen artisans and has collaborated with the Charu sub-brand Saso for several years.

Master Sangzhou Songbao

He is from Bailonggou, Chengwen Town, Chindu County. He learned pottery-making from the local elderly female artisan, Caixiu, and eventually became a inheritor of this craft. The everyday pottery he creates is widely used by the local community.

The craft Master Sangzhou inherits belongs to the Anchong pottery tradition. Its characteristics are a smooth, glossy surface, natural color, and a thick base that withstands high temperatures. His pottery works can be found in various places across Yushu.

Yang Genai

The sixth-generation inheritor of Maisu black pottery

As vessels carrying plateau culture, behind black pottery lies not only the artisan's wisdom and skill, but also the spirituality bestowed by the earth itself.

The plateau's mountains, rivers, grasslands, and seas of flowers seem endowed with life. They speak quietly on the black pottery vessels, as if suspending time in that very moment.