Handmade Duo Qiu Yixing Zisha Teapot – Aged Zini Clay, 100ml

This is a 100 ml duo qiu teapot in Aged Zini Clay, fully handmade, made in Dingshu, Yixing. Its Chinese name is 掇球.

The clay. 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.

The form. The Duo Qiu form (掇球) dates to the Qing dynasty, attributed to Shao Daheng lineage. Three spheres stacked — body, lid and knob — each a true curve, each smaller than the last. Geometric in a way you feel rather than see. Getting the three radii to agree is the whole difficulty.

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 ripe pu-erh, aged white tea and black tea.

This pot. Catalogue no. 382, 100 ml, US$350. 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

• Heng Yuan Yixing Zisha Teapot — Aged Zini Clay, 100 ml, $350
• Handmade Hai Tang Yixing Zisha Teapot — Aged Zini Clay, 130 ml, $450
• Handmade Sculptural Form Yixing Zisha Teapot — Zini Clay, 100 ml, $350

Or browse every Aged Zini pot · the full Yixing catalogue.