Hand-Grip Form Yixing Zisha Teapot – Duanni Clay, 140ml

This is a 140 ml hand-grip form teapot in Duanni Clay, clay-painted, made in Dingshu, Yixing. Its Chinese name is 灵珠.

The clay. A co-formed ore of zini and green clay, firing to a satin yellow. Duanni is strongly sandy — more bone than flesh, as potters put it — and among the most breathable bodies in Yixing. Very open. It suits delicate teas where you want lift and clarity rather than weight.

The form. The Hand-Grip Form (手抓壶) dates to the contemporary, attributed to contemporary makers. Built to be held by the body rather than a handle — the grip is worked into the form itself. Unusually direct in the hand. You feel the wall thickness and the heat of the tea as you pour.

How it was made. Nihui — painting in liquid clay slip on the raw body, building the image in low relief before firing.

Size and tea. 140 ml serves two to three people from a single fill, which makes it the most generally useful size on a tea table. Best suited to green tea, raw pu-erh and white tea.

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. 384, 140 ml, US$500. Photographed individually — the images show the pot you receive.

Made by an independent Dingshu potter working outside the titled-master system. We do not attach a name we cannot verify.

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

Similar teapots

• Hand-Grip Form Yixing Zisha Teapot — Golden Duanni Clay, 110 ml, $350
• Handmade Gourd Form Yixing Zisha Teapot — Duanni Clay, 130 ml, $420
• Hand-Grip Form Yixing Zisha Teapot — Golden Duanni Clay, 100 ml, $350

Or browse every Duanni pot · the full Yixing catalogue.