Chinese Antique
Chinese Clay Teapots
The first teapots were produced in the 1300s in China, during the Ming Dynasty; until that time, there was no such thing. Previously, tea was prepared in and consumed from small clay bowls, in which pieces of broken tea cakes (formed by pressing together dried tea leaves mixed with salt) were steeped in boiling water. After the tea leaves separated from the water, sinking to the bottom of the bowl, the liquid was drank, often at the behest of a healer for medicinal purposes, and not merely for enjoyment.
The very first clay teapots, then, date from the 14th century. Several hundred years later, during the Song Dynasty in the 16th century, it is said that a monk from Jinsha temple fashioned the first pot from the famous purple zhisha clay of the YiXing region, which was renowned for its use in making tools and other cooking utensils. Today YiXing remains known for its clay teapots, and tourists to the region will find many shops offering these renowned local products. Besides individual artists making these teapots the old-fashioned way, the first mass-production teapot facility here opened in 1958 in the village of Dingshu.
This unique clay, called zhisha, comprises quartz, mica, kaolin (a white clay used in the production of porcelain), and iron oxide, which gives it its purple hue. Zhisha is porous, even after being fired, and this allows the clay teapots to retain the flavor of the tea brewed within; after several uses one may obtain tea-flavored water from the pot without the use of tea leaves! It is thus recommended that each zhisha pot be dedicated solely to one type of tea.
Although many zhisha teapots are still handmade in the traditional artisan way, there are also factory-produced examples, made by filling the clay into pre-made molds and later assembling them. Even these pots often are individually smoothed out, finished, and decorated with etchings, carvings, or paintings by hand.
Both clay and earthenware (porcelain) teapots from China are available in a variety of shapes and sizes ranging from tiny to large, and including unique forms in the shapes of birds, animals, and other objects. Many scores of companies distribute these well-known pots the world over to be sold in specialty tea stores and by other merchants. Stoneware and porcelain pots are also found in an assortment of price ranges from inexpensive factory-made pieces to fine, rare hand-crafted examples that can be quite dear.
YiXing pots, specifically, also come in an assortment of shapes including tall ones, short ones, and both spherical and square teapots. They also vary in volume from individual serving-sized pots to those that hold four, eight, or more cups of tea. Often such pots are sold with a matching set of zhisha clay teacups. The cost of YiXing tea sets depends on their size, shape, age, and quality, but one may find examples starting around $40-50 and, for particularly rare and antique specimens, upwards of thousands of dollars.
The best quality tea is loose leaf, so you’ll need a Yixing teapot, cast iron teapot, or kyusu to steep it.
A Chinese antique rug ID (BB2640)
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