Yuan Bao Yixing Zisha Teapot – Golden Zhuni Clay, 150ml
Yuan Bao Yixing Zisha Teapot – Golden Zhuni Clay, 150ml
This is a 150 ml yuan bao teapot in Golden Zhuni Clay, partially handmade, made in Dingshu, Yixing. Its Chinese name is 元宝.
The clay. Zhuni that fires golden-orange rather than red. Usually made in small capacities, where the shrinkage problem is hardest to control. Shares zhuni's aroma-forward behaviour, in a warmer colour.
The form. The subject here is silver ingot — in Chinese decorative vocabulary, wealth, in its most direct form. 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. Formed with the help of a mould for the body, with the spout, handle, lid and finishing worked by hand. A well-made half-handmade pot is a good pot; the difference is in labour, not in whether it brews well.
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 oolong, dancong and green tea.
This pot. Catalogue no. 023, 150 ml, US$100. Photographed individually — the images show the pot you receive.
Made by 秦长明. We buy directly from the workshop rather than through a wholesaler, so the attribution comes with the pot.
| Clay | Golden Zhuni Clay (黄金朱泥) |
|---|---|
| Form | Yuan Bao (元宝) |
| Capacity | 150 ml |
| Craft | Partially handmade (半手工) |
| Origin | Dingshu, Yixing, Jiangsu, China |
| Catalogue no. | 023 |
New to zisha? Read how to season a Yixing teapot before first use.
Similar teapots
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- Yuan Bao Yixing Zisha Teapot — Dicaoqing Zini Clay, 120 ml, $85
Or browse every Golden Zhuni pot · the full Yixing catalogue.
