Description
 
Yixing Zisha Base Clay Home in Peony Teapot (480mal)
 
This Home in Peony Teapot is fully handmade with zisha 30 years old well weathered base clay ( 底槽清 ).  The ore can be seen on the photo above.
 
The engraving on both sides are very well related. On one side, it says "室雅何須大 花香不在多". It means we need a delicate rather than a large place for home. A single fragrant flower is better than a bunch of withered. One the other side, a bunch of peony is engraved which a sparrow calls it home.
 
Base Clay is produced in the Huanglong Mountain, Yixing, Jiangsu Province. It is produced at the bottom layer of the purple clay sediement ore. Its composition is extremely pure with very fine clay particles. The color is reddish brown. After the closure of Well No. 4 in Huanglongshan, there is an increasing shortage of base clay resources, and the weathered base clay is becoming more and more precious. The kiln temperature is about 1180-1220 ° C, and the shrinkage ratio is about 12%. It is widely used in the famous pots of modern times. It pairs very well with raw / ripe puerh, oolong tea (light roasted), black tea & green tea etc.
 
This teapot holds approximately 480ml (+/- 5ml) and features a ball filter with 14 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.