Dezhong Yixing Zisha Teapot – Benshan Luni Clay, 110ml

This is a 110 ml dezhong teapot in Benshan Luni Clay, wood-fired, made in Dingshu, Yixing. Its Chinese name is 德钟.

The clay. Cut from a thin green seam inside the zini layer — 'clay within clay, rock within rock'. Scarce, delicate, and with a narrow firing window, so pure-ore pots are genuinely hard to make. Fires a tender yellow-green that turns quietly jade-like with use. A scholar's clay rather than a workhorse.

The form. The Dezhong form (德钟) dates to the Qing dynasty, Daoguang era, attributed to Shao Daheng. Created by Shao Daheng and named for its silhouette — an inverted bell. The name puns on the virtue (de) of the gentleman. Upright, evenly proportioned, formal without being stiff. The classic scholar's pot.

How it was made. Fired in a wood kiln, where flame path and falling ash decide the surface. Every piece comes out of the kiln differently, and none of it can be repeated on purpose.

Size and tea. 110 ml is the classic gongfu size — comfortable for one drinker or two sharing small cups, and the volume most Chaoshan-style brewing was built around. Best suited to green tea, white tea and raw pu-erh.

One honest note on duanni-family clays: because the body is pale and very open, dark and heavily roasted teas can leave uneven marks if the pot is handled with oily hands or left wet. Rinse it, dry it, and keep it to lighter teas and it will come up beautifully.

This pot. Catalogue no. 053, 110 ml, US$101. Photographed individually — the images show the pot you receive.

Made by 门静. We buy directly from the workshop rather than through a wholesaler, so the attribution comes with the pot.

New to zisha? Read how to season a Yixing teapot before first use.

Similar teapots

• Handmade Dezhong Yixing Zisha Teapot — Tianqingni Clay, 140 ml, $85
• Qinquan Yixing Zisha Teapot — Benshan Luni Clay, 100 ml, $101
• Handmade Dezhong Yixing Zisha Teapot — Luni Clay, 130 ml, $85

Or browse every Benshan Luni pot · more Dezhong teapots.