Sarah Whitney
Tuolumne, CA
December 28, 2003

The demitasse is part of a collection of demitasse cups that are unique and were collected by my great grandmother who was fortunate enough to travel and collect. My mother passed this collection on to me as I always coveted it. Each cup is special in its own right, the delicate China, the hand painting on each cup and the one that I chose is the most unusual and striking of the collection. These cups are from a bye gone time. I treasure them because of what went into making them and the time and skill involved.

I fell in love with the wooden carved animals from Oaxaca as an art form. I have a small collection of them and each year that we go to Mexico, I always try to find one that really appeals to me. He is so happy and saucy and whimsical that I had to bring him home with me. The workmanship and detail that went into creating this piece is what I appreciate and am drawn to. It's going outside of the box with these little animals.

Demitasse cup, 2.5" h x 2.5" w, saucer 4.75" w. 19th century translucent Chinese porcelain cup and saucer with burnt sienna, black and gold leaf glaze. Dragon pattern w/ dragon in gold leaf breathing fire with black puffs of smoke. The base of cup is fluted and the rim is scalloped with black trim. Handle in black glaze in the shape of a number 9. Cup and saucer have Chinese chop (stamp) in red. Saucer had the same dragon pattern.

Hand carved painted wooden Zebra, 6.75" long x 3.5" h. with sisal mane and tail. Red hooves and nose with other painted detail. Carlos Gutierrez, Oaxaca, Mexico, 2002