Zhou Pan Yixing Zisha Teapot – Tianqingni Clay, 120ml
Zhou Pan Yixing Zisha Teapot – Tianqingni Clay, 120ml
This is a 120 ml zhou pan teapot in Tianqingni Clay, hand-carved, made in Dingshu, Yixing. Its Chinese name is 周盘.
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 Zhou Pan form (周盘) dates to the Qing dynasty, Jiaqing–Daoguang era, attributed to Chen Mansheng and Yang Pengnian. One of the eighteen Mansheng forms. The body is a broad flat disc, taken from the shape of a compass plate — the instrument that finds true direction. Wide, low and quiet, with a strong horizontal reading on the tray.
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 aged pu-erh, aged oolong and white tea.
This pot. Catalogue no. 407, 120 ml, US$400. 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.
| Clay | Tianqingni Clay (天青泥) |
|---|---|
| Form | Zhou Pan (周盘) |
| Capacity | 120 ml |
| Craft | Hand-carved (刻绘) |
| Origin | Dingshu, Yixing, Jiangsu, China |
| Catalogue no. | 407 |
New to zisha? Read how to season a Yixing teapot before first use.
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