Some colours seem to hold a story within them.
I was drawn to the depth and atmosphere of the beautiful Han blue pigment. But what makes this piece particularly special to me is the history of the colour itself.
Han Blue is a pigment developed in ancient China more than 2,000 years ago. Known scientifically as barium copper silicate, it belongs to a family of blue and purple pigments that were created through remarkable early experimentation with materials and heat. Han Blue pigments were used during the Qin and Han periods, and evidence of their use reaches back even further, to the late Western Zhou period. I find it fascinating that a colour developed so long ago can still feel so vibrant and contemporary today.
When I think about these ancient pigments, I’m reminded of the Terracotta Army — the thousands of life-sized figures created to accompany China’s First Emperor into the afterlife.
Today, we often picture the warriors in the warm tones of the terracotta clay, but they were originally painted in a range of vivid colours. Han Blue has been identified on some of the Terracotta Army figures, linking this extraordinary pigment to one of China’s most remarkable archaeological discoveries. It has also been found in ancient Chinese wall paintings, including murals in a Western Han tomb in Luoyang, as well as on painted pottery, beads and other objects.
I love the thought of these colours being part of such extraordinary objects, and of the skill and knowledge involved in creating them. It gives Han Blue a connection to a world of ancient craftsmanship, experimentation and artistic expression.
For my Han Blue Moon, I wanted the pigment to take centre stage.
I worked with the blue across the circular glass, building up texture, marks and variations that give the surface its depth. From a distance, the piece has a quiet, almost lunar presence. As you move closer, tiny details begin to emerge — little flecks, shifts in tone and subtle changes across the surface.
I wasn’t trying to create a literal image of the moon. Instead, I wanted to capture something of its atmosphere: the feeling of looking at a distant surface, full of detail that can never quite be seen all at once.
As with all my work, Han Blue Moon is created using the heritage craft of Verre-églomisé — painting and gilding onto the reverse of glass.
Working this way means building the artwork in reverse order. The details that need to appear in the foreground must be painted first, with the remaining layers added behind them. Once the glass is turned over, the image comes together from the other side.
I love the way this process allows the surface of the glass to become part of the artwork itself. The finished piece has a depth and luminosity that shifts with the light, while the circular shape gives it a sense of stillness and balance.
Han Blue Moon is an exploration of colour, material and history — a small contemporary artwork connected to a much older story.
The materials artists use are never just materials. They carry knowledge, experimentation and traces of the people who worked with them before us.
I find that thought especially meaningful in my practice: using a historic craft and an ancient pigment to create something new, by hand, here in my studio.
Han Blue Moon is now available to view in my collection of original artwork.