Chinese tea · hairlines, gold, one frame
The frame is drawn one line at a time
Gold hairlines on black and on white, an italic name, a monogram at the foot. Thirty-four Chinese teas set inside engraved frames that never touch the leaf.
Chinese tea · hairlines, gold, one frame
Gold hairlines on black and on white, an italic name, a monogram at the foot. Thirty-four Chinese teas set inside engraved frames that never touch the leaf.
3 teas · 3 categories
An engraved line is the thinnest mark that still survives printing, and a frame made of those lines gives the leaf a boundary without putting anything on top of it. The frame does the ceremony so the photograph does not have to, which matters when the subject is a heap of dry leaf that has no shape of its own. Gold is used at hairline weight only, never as a fill, so it reads as line work rather than as a claim about luxury. Black card and white paper are the two grounds because dark leaf and silver bud need opposite backgrounds to stay legible. The italic name sits centred and the Chinese name sits directly under it, both on the same axis, which keeps the two writing systems in one hierarchy instead of one serving the other. Ornament is confined to the corners and the medallion, and the middle of the page is left to the tea.