We made these from a batch of pure Zhuni clay from Yixing's Xiao Mei Yao mine which has been aging for around 10 years. With this, we tried to fire it as high as possible without bubbling in the clay. Although this leads to more breakage in the kiln is also produces subtle wrinkles in the clay, often sought after by people who like zhuni pots.
This shape is named after the almost mythical early Qing dynasty potter Meng Cheng who famously made pots in this shape and was imitated extensively afterwards, with anonymous potters often signing pots with his name as a homage.
These were half-handmade - with the clay pressed into a form to standardise the shape, then finished by hand and fired twice, finishing with a high temperature firing. Inside is a multi hole filter. This clay has been tested with EDXRF testing, showing as pure with no chemical additives as is overwhelmingly common these days..
