Square Form Yixing Zisha Teapot – Aged Zini Clay, 120ml

This is a 120 ml square form teapot in Aged Zini Clay, hand-carved, made in Dingshu, Yixing. Its Chinese name is 六方华灯.

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 Square Form (方器) dates to the traditional category, attributed to various. Square work is the harder half of the craft: every plane must be cut, joined and trued by hand, and any error shows along the whole edge. Crisp arrises and flat faces. Judged on whether the seams disappear.

How it was made. Decoration cut into the leather-hard clay by hand with a steel blade, in the Yixing engraving tradition that goes back to Chen Mansheng's collaborations with potters.

Size and tea. 120 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. 437, 120 ml, US$750. Photographed individually — the images show the pot you receive.

Made by 刘伟. 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

• Artisan Design Yixing Zisha Teapot — Aged Zini Clay, 130 ml, $450
• Hanwa Yixing Zisha Teapot — Aged Zini Clay, 130 ml, $450
• Handmade Ribbed Form Yixing Zisha Teapot — Aged Zini Clay, 150 ml, $750

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