Square Form Yixing Zisha Teapot – Zhuni Clay, 160ml
Square Form Yixing Zisha Teapot – Zhuni Clay, 160ml
This is a 160 ml square form teapot in Zhuni Clay, clay-painted, made in Dingshu, Yixing. Its Chinese name is 四方言心.
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 Square Form (方器) dates to the traditional category, attributed to various. Square work is the harder half of the craft: every plane must be cut, joined and trued by hand, and any error shows along the whole edge. Crisp arrises and flat faces. Judged on whether the seams disappear.
How it was made. Nihui — painting in liquid clay slip on the raw body, building the image in low relief before firing.
Size and tea. At 160 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. 425, 160 ml, US$800. 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 | Square Form (方器) |
| Capacity | 160 ml |
| Craft | Clay-painted (泥绘) |
| Origin | Dingshu, Yixing, Jiangsu, China |
| Catalogue no. | 425 |
New to zisha? Read how to season a Yixing teapot before first use.
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