Description
 
Yixing Zisha Aged Purple Clay Four Ancient Saints Teapot (250ml)
 
This Four Ancient Saints Teapot is handmade with top quality 25 years old aged purple clay. This batch of clay has a relativel higher quartz content with a very well balance between the coarse and fine particles.  This Hexagon Teapot is engraved with the Famous 4 Ancient Saints:
 
East : Green Dragon
West : White Tiger
North : Snake Turtle
South : Vermillion Phoenix
 
The artist is conveying a message that this pot goes well with different kinds of teas : Green , White , Oolong , Black & Puerh.
 
The 25 year old aged purple mud is the purple clay of Huanglong Mountain. It was refining and aged since the 1980s, and its existence is limited. It is high fired at about 1170-1190 degrees.  After firing, it is slightly purple and reddish inside , the color is mature and stable, dignified and solemn. After the raising,  there is a hint of imperial glaze in the simplicity which makes it one of the most popular clay type. It goes well with most teas including :Light Roasted Oolongs , Works best with Raw & Ripe Puerh, go well with Black , Oolongs and Aged White.
 
This teapot holds approximately 250ml (+/- 5ml) and features a ball filter with 10 holes and tight-fitting lid. The walls of this teapot are thick,  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.