Vintage Mint Green Celestial Mug with Sun, Moon and Stars

A cheerful straight-sided ceramic mug in a soft mint green glaze, wrapped in a band of tile-like panels. Each panel holds a sun, a crescent moon, an eight-pointed star or a little wave scroll, in deep teal and sage, with dots and twinkling stars between them. It has a rounded loop handle and a slightly stepped foot, and it's a comfortable everyday size for tea or coffee. The maker isn't marked. The glaze is in good condition with no chips.

Sun, moon and star designs were a big trend in homeware in the early 1990s, when makers like Vandor and Sanyei sold whole ranges of "celestial" mugs. The pairing of the sun and the moon is far older than that, standing for day and night and the balance between opposites in cultures around the world. This mug puts its own gentle pastel spin on that much-loved cosmic look.