{"product_id":"zisha-teapot-lao-zi-ni-chang-le-gui-342","title":"Handmade Sculptural Form Yixing Zisha Teapot – Aged Zini Clay, 130ml","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis is a 130 ml sculptural form teapot in Aged Zini Clay, fully handmade, made in Dingshu, Yixing. Its Chinese name is 长乐.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe clay.\u003c\/strong\u003e Zini ore that has been weathered and stored for years before use. The saying in Yixing is that clay grows more supple with age — aged zini works more smoothly on the wheel and fires to a deeper, more settled purple. Mellower than fresh zini. The liquor comes through soft and rounded rather than bright, which is why long-time drinkers tend to gravitate to older stock.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe form.\u003c\/strong\u003e The subject here is eternal joy — in Chinese decorative vocabulary, from the Han roof-tile inscription chang le wei yang. 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHow it was made.\u003c\/strong\u003e 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSize and tea.\u003c\/strong\u003e 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 ripe pu-erh, aged white tea and black tea.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThis pot.\u003c\/strong\u003e Catalogue no. 342, 130 ml, US$750. Photographed individually — the images show the pot you receive.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMade by 张琦. We buy directly from the workshop rather than through a wholesaler, so the attribution comes with the pot.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ctable\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003cth\u003eClay\u003c\/th\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eAged Zini Clay (老紫泥)\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003cth\u003eForm\u003c\/th\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eSculptural Form (仿生器)\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003cth\u003eCapacity\u003c\/th\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e130 ml\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003cth\u003eCraft\u003c\/th\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eFully handmade (全手工)\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003cth\u003eOrigin\u003c\/th\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eDingshu, Yixing, Jiangsu, China\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003cth\u003eCatalogue no.\u003c\/th\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e342\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/tbody\u003e\u003c\/table\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eNew to zisha? Read \u003ca href=\"\/blogs\/journal\/how-to-season-a-yixing-teapot\"\u003ehow to season a Yixing teapot\u003c\/a\u003e before first use.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eSimilar teapots\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003ca href=\"\/products\/zisha-teapot-lao-zi-ni-ma-dao-cheng-gong-409\"\u003eHandmade Sculptural Form Yixing Zisha Teapot\u003c\/a\u003e — Aged Zini Clay, 140 ml, $550\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003ca href=\"\/products\/zisha-teapot-di-cao-qing-song-zhuang-359\"\u003eHandmade Sculptural Form Yixing Zisha Teapot\u003c\/a\u003e — Dicaoqing Zini Clay, 130 ml, $550\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003ca href=\"\/products\/zisha-teapot-lao-zi-ni-seng-mao-363\"\u003eHandmade Sculptural Form Yixing Zisha Teapot\u003c\/a\u003e — Aged Zini Clay, 160 ml, $1500\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003cp\u003eOr browse \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/zini-yixing-teapots\"\u003eevery Aged Zini pot\u003c\/a\u003e · \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/yixing-zisha-teapots\"\u003ethe full Yixing catalogue\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Yihu Yike","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45837658652719,"sku":"YHYK-0342","price":750.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/8676\/5615\/files\/sculptural-form-aged-zini-clay-yixing-zisha-teapot-342-01.jpg?v=1787065447","url":"https:\/\/yixingzishateapot.com\/products\/zisha-teapot-lao-zi-ni-chang-le-gui-342","provider":"Yihu Yike","version":"1.0","type":"link"}