Size: Approximately 450ml
This teapot features a hand carved picture of a magpie (symbolizing the bearer of good news in China) on one side, and the four character expression: 美意延年 on the other side, which means "Beauty and Longevity." This expression comes from an article writtern by Xunzi 荀子 a Confucian philosopher around 2000 years ago.
This is an Yixing teapot made from dicaoqing zisha, a dark brown-purple Yixing clay. This dicaoqing is original ore zisha from Huanglongshan Number 4 Mine. This clay is very versatile and is good for use with most kinds of tea.
You can read more about Dicaoqing clay in our blog entry here.
This teapot shape is known as shipiao石瓢. This pot is known as "half-handmade" as the sculptor uses a molding tool to shape the body, and uses his hands for the handle, spout, holes, and smoothing out the body. In fact, no machine was used in it's shaping as the use of the tool is entirely manual.
You can read more about half handmade teapots in our blog entry here.
This teapot holds 450ml and was made by Lin Hanpeng and Chen Chunhong Studio.
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.