Handmade Xishi Yixing Zisha Teapot – Ash-Fired Zini Clay, 130ml
Handmade Xishi Yixing Zisha Teapot – Ash-Fired Zini Clay, 130ml
This is a 130 ml xishi teapot in Ash-Fired Zini Clay, fully handmade, made in Dingshu, Yixing. Its Chinese name is 水滴西施.
The clay. Zini fired a second time buried in charcoal, with the oxygen cut off. The iron reduces and the body turns from purple to a deep, even black-grey. Behaves as zini underneath — the change is in the surface, not the structure.
The form. The Xishi form (西施) dates to the late Ming, attributed to attributed to Xu Youquan. Named for the classical beauty Xi Shi. Round and full-bodied, with a bead knob, a short spout, an inset lid and a reversed handle. The best-known small zhuni form there is — compact, soft-shouldered, and comfortable in one hand.
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 ripe pu-erh, black tea and yancha.
This pot. Catalogue no. 397, 130 ml, US$300. 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 | Ash-Fired Zini Clay (紫泥捂灰) |
|---|---|
| Form | Xishi (西施) |
| Capacity | 130 ml |
| Craft | Fully handmade (全手工) |
| Origin | Dingshu, Yixing, Jiangsu, China |
| Catalogue no. | 397 |
New to zisha? Read how to season a Yixing teapot before first use.
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