Ziye Shipiao Yixing Zisha Teapot – Red Jiangponi Clay, 90ml

This is a 90 ml shipiao teapot in Red Jiangponi Clay, hand-carved, made in Dingshu, Yixing. Its Chinese name is 子冶石瓢.

The clay. The warmer end of the jiangponi seam, with more red ore in the mix. Rounder and sweeter, with jiangponi's characteristic quick patina.

The form. The Shipiao form (石瓢) dates to the Qing dynasty, Jiaqing–Daoguang era, attributed to Chen Mansheng and Yang Pengnian. Originally called shidiao, one of the eighteen Mansheng forms. The name carries a line from Su Dongpo and a Buddhist idea — of three thousand rivers, one drinks a single gourd. Triangular in profile, flat-bodied, standing on three small feet. Plain to the point of severity, and completely stable on the table. The form most often described as great skill appearing clumsy.

How it was made. Decoration cut into the leather-hard clay by hand with a steel blade, in the Yixing engraving tradition that goes back to Chen Mansheng's collaborations with potters.

Size and tea. At 90 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 black tea, ripe pu-erh and roasted oolong.

This pot. Catalogue no. 237, 90 ml, US$220. 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

• Handmade Shipiao Yixing Zisha Teapot — Aged Zini Clay, 100 ml, $300
• Artisan Design Yixing Zisha Teapot — Jiangponi Clay, 100 ml, $350
• Handmade Artisan Design Yixing Zisha Teapot — Red Jiangponi Clay, 90 ml, $500

Or browse every Red Jiangponi pot · more Shipiao teapots.