Description
 
Yixing Zisha Aged Fault Clay Butterfly Mantan Teapot 
 
This teapot is fully handmade using zisha Aged Fault Clay ( 老段泥 ). The surface features carved butterfly and magnolia flowers. This is achieved by hand-sculpting the artwork before high-fired at 1150-1200 degree Cel. Each of the teapots from this series employs a higher level of craftsmanship & effort than what is commonly found and is reflected in the quality and details of the pots.
 
The Aged Fault Clay is produced in Huanglong Mountain, Yixing, Jiangsu Province,  a symbiotic ore of the mountain green mud and purple mud. The Bushan green and purple clay are the original ore of purple sand. The meaning of symbiosis is natural formation, and the two muds have the same nature. The aged fault clay is a mature clay that has been preserved for over 10 years.
 
This teapot holds approximately 120ml (+/- 5ml) and features a ball filter and tight-fitting lid. The walls of this teapot are relatively thin, but it allows for a very stable and comfortable hand feel that has to be experienced to fully appreciate. It also includes a certificate from the artist indicating the artist’s name, teapot shape and clay composition.
 
Zisha (‘purple sand’) describes the reddish-brown color of the sedimentary soil which settled in ancient lakes and is now buried deep underground. The clay is compressed under heavy sedimentary rock formations throughout the Yixing region, southwest of Shanghai, in China’s Jiangsu province. Huanglong Mountain near Dingshu township has been the source of high quality purple clay ore for centuries. The mountain itself is rather ordinary – neither grand or pretty – but it is 350 million years old.
These teapots are prized because their unglazed surfaces absorb traces of the beverage and develop a patina, which enhances the taste, color and aroma of fine tea.