Shuiping Yixing Zisha Teapot – Zhuni Clay, 130ml
Shuiping Yixing Zisha Teapot – Zhuni Clay, 130ml
This is a 130 ml shuiping teapot in Zhuni Clay, hand-finished with enamel decoration, made in Dingshu, Yixing. Its Chinese name is 水平.
The clay. Very high in iron, fired to a bright vermilion, and dense enough to ring when the lid is tapped. Zhuni shrinks by up to twenty percent in the kiln, so a large share of every batch cracks — the Yixing saying is that a zhuni pot without wrinkles is not zhuni. Dense and low-porosity, so it holds aroma at the surface instead of absorbing it. This is the clay that makes fragrant teas smell like themselves.
The form. The Shuiping form (水平) dates to the late Ming to early Qing, attributed to the Hui Mengchen lineage. Built for Chaoshan gongfu tea. When the pot is bathed in hot water it floats level — hence the name. Light, small and one-handed. The standard fitting on a gongfu tray, and almost always made in zhuni.
How it was made. Hand-finished body with enamel painting applied and fired separately.
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 oolong, dancong and green tea.
This pot. Catalogue no. 238, 130 ml, US$600. 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 | Zhuni Clay (朱泥) |
|---|---|
| Form | Shuiping (水平) |
| Capacity | 130 ml |
| Craft | Hand-finished with enamel decoration (手工珐琅彩) |
| Origin | Dingshu, Yixing, Jiangsu, China |
| Catalogue no. | 238 |
New to zisha? Read how to season a Yixing teapot before first use.
Similar teapots
- Handmade Sculptural Form Yixing Zisha Teapot — Zhuni Clay, 150 ml, $620
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- Handmade Shuiping Yixing Zisha Teapot — Zhuni Clay, 70 ml, $300
Or browse every Zhuni pot · the full Yixing catalogue.
