{"product_id":"zisha-teapot-di-cao-qing-song-shu-pu-tao-shu-zhuang-446","title":"Handmade Sculptural Form Yixing Zisha Teapot – Dicaoqing Zini Clay, 50ml","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis is a 50 ml sculptural form teapot in Dicaoqing Zini Clay, fully handmade, made in Dingshu, Yixing. Its Chinese name is 松鼠葡萄树桩.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe clay.\u003c\/strong\u003e The most prized layer of the zini seam, cut from the very bottom of the deposit and recognisable by the green 'chicken-eye' inclusions in the raw ore. It fires purple with a green cast and a dense, jade-like surface. Dense yet still breathable — an unusual combination. Collectors seek it out because the patina stays restrained and deepens slowly rather than turning glossy.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe form.\u003c\/strong\u003e The subject here is squirrel and grapevine — in Chinese decorative vocabulary, many seeds, many descendants. Naturalistic work — huaqi — takes its subject from the living world: gourds, pine, bamboo, lotus, fruit, animals. It descends directly from Gongchun's tree-burl pot, the founding object of the craft. Each piece is modelled and carved rather than turned, so no two come out the same.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHow it was made.\u003c\/strong\u003e Built entirely by hand — the wall is beaten out from a slab and joined without a mould. Inside the body you can still read the tool marks and the joint line, which is how the method is verified.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSize and tea.\u003c\/strong\u003e At 50 ml this is a solo pot. One person, short infusions, and the small volume means you can push a good leaf through eight or ten steeps without ever brewing more than you drink. Best suited to aged pu-erh, yancha and black tea.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThis pot.\u003c\/strong\u003e Catalogue no. 446, 50 ml, US$550. Photographed individually — the images show the pot you receive.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMade by an independent Dingshu potter working outside the titled-master system. We do not attach a name we cannot verify.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ctable\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003cth\u003eClay\u003c\/th\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eDicaoqing Zini Clay (底槽清)\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003cth\u003eForm\u003c\/th\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eSculptural Form (仿生器)\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003cth\u003eCapacity\u003c\/th\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e50 ml\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003cth\u003eCraft\u003c\/th\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eFully handmade (全手工)\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003cth\u003eOrigin\u003c\/th\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eDingshu, Yixing, Jiangsu, China\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003cth\u003eCatalogue no.\u003c\/th\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e446\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/tbody\u003e\u003c\/table\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eNew to zisha? Read \u003ca href=\"\/blogs\/journal\/how-to-season-a-yixing-teapot\"\u003ehow to season a Yixing teapot\u003c\/a\u003e before first use.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eSimilar teapots\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003ca href=\"\/products\/zisha-teapot-di-cao-qing-han-wa-377\"\u003eHandmade Hanwa Yixing Zisha Teapot\u003c\/a\u003e — Dicaoqing Zini Clay, 70 ml, $350\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003ca href=\"\/products\/zisha-teapot-huang-jin-duan-hao-shi-hua-sheng-tao-zu-275\"\u003eHandmade Sculptural Form Yixing Zisha Teapot\u003c\/a\u003e — Golden Duanni Clay, 80 ml, $630\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003ca href=\"\/products\/zisha-teapot-lao-zi-ni-chang-le-gui-342\"\u003eHandmade Sculptural Form Yixing Zisha Teapot\u003c\/a\u003e — Aged Zini Clay, 130 ml, $750\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003cp\u003eOr browse \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/zini-yixing-teapots\"\u003eevery Dicaoqing Zini pot\u003c\/a\u003e · \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/yixing-zisha-teapots\"\u003ethe full Yixing catalogue\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Yihu Yike","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45837665927215,"sku":"YHYK-0446","price":550.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/8676\/5615\/files\/sculptural-form-dicaoqing-zini-clay-yixing-zisha-teapot-446-01.jpg?v=1787072396","url":"https:\/\/yixingzishateapot.com\/products\/zisha-teapot-di-cao-qing-song-shu-pu-tao-shu-zhuang-446","provider":"Yihu Yike","version":"1.0","type":"link"}