Handmade Tall Shipiao Yixing Zisha Teapot – Zipao Yusha Clay, 140ml

This is a 140 ml shipiao teapot in Zipao Yusha Clay, fully handmade, made in Dingshu, Yixing. Its Chinese name is 高石瓢.

The clay. Zini blended with fine sand, so the fired body carries visible grain against a settled purple ground — the name means 'purple robe, jade sand'. The sand adds texture without costing breathability. A pot that stays interesting to look at as it ages.

The form. The Shipiao form (石瓢) dates to the Qing dynasty, Jiaqing–Daoguang era, attributed to Chen Mansheng and Yang Pengnian. Originally called shidiao, one of the eighteen Mansheng forms. The name carries a line from Su Dongpo and a Buddhist idea — of three thousand rivers, one drinks a single gourd. Triangular in profile, flat-bodied, standing on three small feet. Plain to the point of severity, and completely stable on the table. The form most often described as great skill appearing clumsy.

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. 140 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 pu-erh, black tea and roasted oolong.

This pot. Catalogue no. 070, 140 ml, US$85. Photographed individually — the images show the pot you receive.

Made by 王婷. We buy directly from the workshop rather than through a wholesaler, so the attribution comes with the pot.

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

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