Tree-Trunk Sculptural Form Yixing Zisha Teapot – Yellow Jiangponi Clay, 130ml

This is a 130 ml tree-trunk sculptural form teapot in Yellow Jiangponi Clay, partially handmade, made in Dingshu, Yixing. Its Chinese name is 松鼠葡萄树桩.

The clay. Jiangponi running toward yellow, closer in appearance to the duanni family while keeping the slope ore's soft grain. Gentle and easy-going; suits lighter teas.

The form. The subject here is tree stump — in Chinese decorative vocabulary, bark, burl and growth rings modelled directly. 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. 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 green tea, light oolong and white tea.

This pot. Catalogue no. 014, 130 ml, US$200. Photographed individually — the images show the pot you receive.

Made by 韩传杰. 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.

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• Square Form Yixing Zisha Teapot — Aged Duanni Clay, 120 ml, $190

Or browse every Yellow Jiangponi pot · the full Yixing catalogue.