Capacity: approximately 200ml
This teapot features hand carved calligraphy on one side that reads "不肥而坚是以永年" which means: "(drinking tea) keeps you healthy and not overweight, gives you long life." The shape of the teapot and the carved inscription reproduce the work by the potter Mansheng 曼生 (1768-1822). This style of teapot is known as a Mansheng Shipiao 曼生石瓢 after the artist's take on the classic shipiao style teapot.
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.
This pot is known as "half-handmade" as the sculptor shapes the main body by hand using a moulding tool. The handle, spout, holes, and the finishing touches are done by hand. 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 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.