Pumpkin Form Yixing Zisha Teapot – Zhuni Clay, 180ml

This is a 180 ml pumpkin form teapot in Zhuni Clay, relief appliqué decorated, made in Dingshu, Yixing. Its Chinese name is 南瓜.

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 subject here is pumpkin — in Chinese decorative vocabulary, abundance and a full harvest. 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. Modelled elements formed separately and applied to the body while the clay is still damp.

Size and tea. At 180 ml this fills three or four cups at once — enough for guests without moving to a full teapot. Best suited to oolong, dancong and green tea.

This pot. Catalogue no. 234, 180 ml, US$750. 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.

New to zisha? Read how to season a Yixing teapot before first use.

Similar teapots

• Square Form Yixing Zisha Teapot — Zhuni Clay, 160 ml, $800
• Bian Yu Yixing Zisha Teapot — Zhuni Clay, 160 ml, $650
• Handmade Ribbed Form Yixing Zisha Teapot — Zhuni Clay, 200 ml, $599

Or browse every Zhuni pot · the full Yixing catalogue.