Artisan Design Yixing Zisha Teapot – Golden Duanni Clay, 150ml

This is a 150 ml artisan design teapot in Golden Duanni Clay, wood-fired, made in Dingshu, Yixing. Its Chinese name is 如意.

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 ruyi sceptre — in Chinese decorative vocabulary, may it go as you wish. An original design rather than a version of a canonical form. The maker sets the proportions, the line and the ornament. Judged on its own terms rather than against a classical template.

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. 150 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. 364, 150 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.

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

Similar teapots

• Artisan Design Yixing Zisha Teapot — Golden Duanni Clay, 90 ml, $380
• Handmade Artisan Design Yixing Zisha Teapot — Golden Duanni Clay, 90 ml, $350
• Sculptural Form Yixing Zisha Teapot — Golden Duanni Clay, 130 ml, $380

Or browse every Golden Duanni pot · the full Yixing catalogue.