Mystery Tea Cup

A friend recently purchased this unique handleless tea cup and saucer.She shared her cup with me and inquired if I was familiar with this style of cup. Upon closer inspection, you can see these holes around the base of the cup. The interior cup portion is suspended in the middle.

Not having seen this style of cup before, I posted the photographs on an Internet tea group that I belong to, specifically, Afternoon Tea Across America to see if they had any thoughts. And indeed they did. Mary suggested that the holes in the outer layer create a cooler area to hold the handleless hot cup. Ruth commented that it is a pretty pattern, but not an older one as the maker's mark is a recent design, within the last 5 years. Martha discovered it to be a Hankook fine bone china, and that the cups are double walled to protect your hands from the hot liquid and that those are ventilation holes at the bottom of the exterior wall. Mary Jane considers this to be a wonderful treasure, similar to one she has. All thoughts and comments are appreciated from this generous group of tea enthusiasts. They are happy to share their knowledge, post recipes, and simple contribute to the ongoing conversation about tea. Thanks to this fine group for helping us to discover a little more about my friends cup.