Handmade objects last if they are looked after in the way their material expects. The guidance below is deliberately material-by-material, because the single most damaging thing you can do is treat all of it the same way.
1. Porcelain and Celadon
- Wash by hand in warm water with a mild detergent. Dishwashers are fine for plain, undecorated porcelain but will dull or strip hand-painted overglaze, gold and lustre over time.
- Avoid thermal shock. Do not pour boiling water into a cold pot, or put a hot piece into cold water. Cracking from thermal shock is the most common preventable failure in ceramics.
- Crazing — a fine network of lines in the glaze — is a normal characteristic of many traditional glazes, not damage.
- Dry thoroughly before storing. Store with lids off so air can circulate.
2. Yixing Clay and Other Unglazed Teapots
- Never use detergent. Unglazed clay is porous and will absorb it. Rinse with hot water only.
- Never scrub the inside. The interior patina that builds up is the point of the material. Remove the leaves, rinse, and leave it to air-dry completely with the lid off.
- Dedicate one pot to one type of tea. The clay holds flavour, which is why a pot used only for oolong eventually seasons.
- If mould ever appears — from storing it wet — rinse thoroughly, let it dry fully in open air, and it is fine to keep using.
3. Jade and Other Gemstones
- Wipe with a soft, slightly damp cloth and dry it. No ultrasonic cleaners, no steamers, no jewellery dips.
- Put jewellery on after perfume, hairspray and cosmetics; chemicals and acids dull the polish over time.
- Jade is tough but brittle — it resists scratching better than it survives a knock against stone or tile. Store pieces separately in a soft pouch.
- Avoid prolonged high heat and rapid temperature change.
4. Silver
- Tarnish is a surface reaction, not decay. A silver polishing cloth removes it; so does a brief bicarbonate-of-soda paste on a soft cloth for heavier tarnish, followed by a thorough rinse and dry.
- Much handmade Chinese silverwork is fine silver, which is softer than the sterling used in Western jewellery. Bends are normal and can usually be eased back by hand — do not force a cold joint.
- Remove before swimming, bathing, and any contact with sulphur, bleach or hair dye.
- Store in an airtight bag away from rubber, wool and cardboard, all of which accelerate tarnish.
5. Silk and Hand-Dyed Textiles
- Cold hand wash with a pH-neutral detergent, or dry clean. Never wring — press the water out in a towel.
- Hand-dyed fabrics, including tie-dye and gambiered Canton silk, may release a little colour on the first washes. Wash alone the first time.
- Dry flat in the shade. Direct sun fades natural dye quickly.
- Iron on low from the reverse while slightly damp, with a cloth between the iron and the fabric.
6. Lacquerware
- Wipe with a soft damp cloth and dry immediately. Never soak, never put it in a dishwasher.
- Keep out of direct sunlight and away from radiators — lacquer is cured by humidity and dries out and cracks in prolonged dry heat.
- No alcohol, solvents or abrasive cleaners; they strip the surface permanently.
- Lacquer softens with heat. Do not stack heavy items on it in a hot room.
7. Bamboo, Wood and Lacquered Wood
- Wipe clean, dry immediately, never soak and never dishwash.
- Feed unfinished wood and bamboo with a food-safe oil once or twice a year.
- Avoid radiators, window sills and car dashboards; splitting comes from fast drying, not from age.
- Mould spots on bamboo in a humid climate wipe off with a dilute vinegar solution; dry thoroughly afterwards.
8. Tea and Incense
- Store tea airtight, in the dark, away from heat and away from anything strongly scented — tea takes on odours readily.
- Keep incense dry and flat in its original wrapping; humidity makes sticks burn unevenly.
- Burn incense in a ventilated room, on a non-flammable surface, never unattended.
A Note on Patina
Everything above is about preventing damage, not preventing ageing. Unglazed clay darkens, silver tarnishes, brass dulls, wood deepens in colour, linen softens. On objects meant to be used daily, that is the material recording the fact that it has been used. If you would rather a piece stay exactly as it arrived, tell us before you buy and we will point you towards the ones that do.
Questions about a specific piece? Contact us — we would rather answer before something goes wrong than after.
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