Capacity: Approximately 250ml
Photos are of the actual teapot. There is only one teapot available.
This teapot was fully handmade by the artist 钱雪梦 Qian Xuemeng.
The process of building the hexagon shape requires a great deal of time and skill. The teapot also features flecks of real gold on the surface of the clay.
The teapot features hand carved characters that read, 咬定青山不放松，立根原在破岩中。 These are the first 2 sentences of the poem 《竹石》(bamboo and rock) by Zheng Banqiao 郑板桥, a famous poet from the early Qing dynasty. The poem can be roughly translated as, "the bamboo is deeply rooted in the mountain between the rocks."
This pot is known as fully handmade as unlike most Yixing teapots that are half handmade the sculptor does not use a molding tool to shape the body, but instead shapes everything, including the body, by hand. Fully handmade teapots require more labor and more skill to construct, especially in the case of more complex shapes. Each one is entirely unique.
You can read more about fully handmade teapots in our blog entry here.
This Yixing Teapot is made from Benshan duanni 本山段泥 mined from Huanglong Mountain 黄龙山, a rarer kind of Yixing clay (zisha) with a pale beige yellow tone. This clay is favoured for rounding out the harsher notes of some teas. It is very porous compared to other zisha.
You can read more about benshan duanni and other varieties of duanni here, in our blog entry.
Preparation Before Use
Yixing Teapots should be prepared before using the first time. This is called "opening the pot". It removes the dust from firing the teapot.
We recommend rinsing the teapot under warm water two or three times, then filling the teapot with boiling water and emptying it out two to three times. After this the teapot is ready for use.