Handmade Shipiao Yixing Zisha Teapot – Tianqingni Clay, 130ml

This is a 130 ml shipiao teapot in Tianqingni Clay, fully handmade, made in Dingshu, Yixing. Its Chinese name is 合瓢.

The clay. A legendary zini recorded in Ming-dynasty texts and now genuinely scarce. It fires to a deep, quiet blue-green cast with a faint purple glow and a very fine grain. Understated. The appeal is in the restraint — an aged, still quality rather than anything showy.

The form. The Shipiao form (石瓢) dates to the Qing dynasty, Jiaqing–Daoguang era, attributed to Chen Mansheng and Yang Pengnian. Originally called shidiao, one of the eighteen Mansheng forms. The name carries a line from Su Dongpo and a Buddhist idea — of three thousand rivers, one drinks a single gourd. Triangular in profile, flat-bodied, standing on three small feet. Plain to the point of severity, and completely stable on the table. The form most often described as great skill appearing clumsy.

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. 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 aged pu-erh, aged oolong and white tea.

This pot. Catalogue no. 141, 130 ml, US$85. Photographed individually — the images show the pot you receive.

Made by 徐承祖. 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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