Handmade Tang Yu Yixing Zisha Teapot – Zhuni Clay, 100ml

This is a 100 ml tang yu teapot in Zhuni Clay, fully handmade, made in Dingshu, Yixing. Its Chinese name is 唐羽.

The clay. Very high in iron, fired to a bright vermilion, and dense enough to ring when the lid is tapped. Zhuni shrinks by up to twenty percent in the kiln, so a large share of every batch cracks — the Yixing saying is that a zhuni pot without wrinkles is not zhuni. Dense and low-porosity, so it holds aroma at the surface instead of absorbing it. This is the clay that makes fragrant teas smell like themselves.

The form. The Tang Yu form (唐羽) dates to the Tang dynasty form, revived in the modern era, attributed to Gu Jingzhou (modern interpretation). Modelled on Tang-dynasty long-handled water vessels, where the handle projects straight out from the body like a feathered shaft rather than looping over the top. Unusual in the hand — you pour with a straight pull rather than a lift.

How it was made. Built entirely by hand — the wall is beaten out from a slab and joined without a mould. Inside the body you can still read the tool marks and the joint line, which is how the method is verified.

Size and tea. 100 ml is the classic gongfu size — comfortable for one drinker or two sharing small cups, and the volume most Chaoshan-style brewing was built around. Best suited to oolong, dancong and green tea.

This pot. Catalogue no. 239, 100 ml, US$500. Photographed individually — the images show the pot you receive.

Made by 张琦. We buy directly from the workshop rather than through a wholesaler, so the attribution comes with the pot.

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

Similar teapots

• Handmade Pan Hu Yixing Zisha Teapot — Zhuni Clay, 100 ml, $240
• Handmade Sculptural Form Yixing Zisha Teapot — Zhuni Clay, 150 ml, $620
• Handmade Yu Hua Long Yixing Zisha Teapot — Zhuni Clay, 170 ml, $550

Or browse every Zhuni pot · the full Yixing catalogue.