Volume: Approximately 125ml
This teapot has some characters carved into the base - 花晨月夕，舍此不可 (The phrase can be loosely translated as the beautiful scenery cannot be enjoyed without the beautiful thing we're holding) - 逸公 (Yigong, a Qing Dynasty master potter known for his zhuni teapots). We also have the same teapot but with the studio stamp (see other listings).
This teapot features 99.9% (999) pure silver applied to the spout, knob and around the lid. Please see photos as a reference for the silver accents.
Zhuni Dahongpao is a special grade of zhuni named for its deep red-orange hue. The small amount of zhuni dahongpao ore (unprocessed clay) was handpicked by Lin Hanpeng from zhuni mined from Xiaomeiyao in Yixing.
This is an yixing teapot made from a rare type of zhuni clay known as Zhuni Dahongpao. The ratio of dahongpao ore to regular zhuni ore is said to be 1:100, or 1kg of zhuni dahongpao ore for every 100kg of zhuni ore. Dahongpao zhuni has a greater amount of Fe2O3 iron oxide than regular zhuni giving it a deeper red-orange hue. It also contains a lower percentage of Al2O3 aluminum oxide than regular zhuni, making it more difficult to fire without breaking. The range of temperature for firing dahongpao zhuni successfully is very narrow. It also has a higher shrink rate than regular zhuni, sometimes shrinking as much as 40%.
You can read more about Zhuni Dahongpao here, and more about zhuni clay here.
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.
This teapot was made by Lin Hanpeng and Chen Chunhong Studio. The stamp at the bottom of the teapot may vary from that shown in the photos. The teapot stamp may have the mark of Lin Hanpeng, Chen Chunhong or the mark of Mud&Leaves in Chinese Characters: 泥葉堂。 All three stamps are used exclusively in connection with 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.