We've been testing a lot of clays for teapots recently and this batch of Zi Ni clay from Huang Long Shan stood out as something special for us. Both aesthetically and functionally it's really very nice.
This batch was also collected in the early 2000's by someone in Yixing that deals with small batches of original ore clays. These clays are unmixed, hand sorted and have no chemical additives during processing. With this clay, we commissioned a potter that has been making pots for us over the past three years, to create a replica of a teapot that from our own collection, which we purchased in Taiwan in 2009 and have been using since. We have been really enjoyed this teapot and thought it would be nice to include this shape in our "Fang Xia" teapot range, and offer it to you all.
The teapot itself is half-handmade - the clay is pressed by hand into a form to construct the shape of the body which has medium thick walls. The handle and spout are joined together by hand, then the pot is high fired. Inside is a single hole filter. There are some " Yao Bian" ( natural colour changes from the firing) which occur during the Tui Ban kiln high temperature firing.
These are excellent teapots, and by ordering in a larger quantity we've been able to offer them at a price that we didn't think possible for this quality of clay and craftsmanship.
