Sculptural Form Yixing Zisha Teapot – Golden Duanni Clay, 130ml
Sculptural Form Yixing Zisha Teapot – Golden Duanni Clay, 130ml
This is a 130 ml sculptural form teapot in Golden Duanni Clay, wood-fired, made in Dingshu, Yixing. Its Chinese name is 葫芦多福.
The clay. The duanni that fires brightest — a clear, luminous gold, with an unusually fine and even grain for the family. Deepens from yellow toward amber as it is used, so the colour of the pot and the colour of the liquor start to answer each other. Best on lighter teas where that can be seen.
The form. The subject here is gourd — in Chinese decorative vocabulary, a pun on fu-lu — good fortune and rank. 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.
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. 130 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 light oolong.
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. 449, 130 ml, US$380. 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.
| Clay | Golden Duanni Clay (黄金段) |
|---|---|
| Form | Sculptural Form (仿生器) |
| Capacity | 130 ml |
| Craft | Wood-fired (柴烧) |
| Origin | Dingshu, Yixing, Jiangsu, China |
| Catalogue no. | 449 |
New to zisha? Read how to season a Yixing teapot before first use.
Similar teapots
- Handmade Sculptural Form Yixing Zisha Teapot — Baiyu Duanni Clay, 150 ml, $360
- Sculptural Form Yixing Zisha Teapot — Golden Duanni Clay, 95 ml, $450
- Sculptural Form Yixing Zisha Teapot — Duanni Clay, 140 ml, $550
Or browse every Golden Duanni pot · the full Yixing catalogue.
