Handmade Jianshui Zitao Pottery Teapot – Lotus Fanggu

This teapot is modeled by the Fanggu teapot, with even and complete lines. The teapot body and lid are embossed with a lifelike lotus blossom on one side, while the other side is bright and clean, with little design, giving it a refreshing, just-right aesthetic that is highly unique.

Same as the Zisha and Nixing teapot, the new Jianshui teapot may lack of gloss, but it will become more and more shiny and metallic with our daily use and the nourishment of tea liquid. The making of a Jianshui Zitao Pottery Teapot requires very fine workmanship and skilled craftsmanship; it also tests the patience of the maker. A finished teapot is hard-won, with very ornamental and collection value, and is suitable for gifting or personal use.

Material

The clay of Jianshui Zitao comes from Wucai Mountain in Jianshui County, Yunnan. The common clays are purple, white, blue, yellow, and other colors. Jianshui pottery has the reputation of "hard as iron, bright as water, smooth as jade and sound like a chime". It contains high iron content, the made utensils have high hardness, and the texture is fine with metal-like texture. The making of Jianshui utensils pays attention to fine workmanship, especially decoration. It uses calligraphy engraving and colorful-mud inlaying as the main technology, integrating painting, calligraphy, engraving, inlay, and other decorative arts, which is extremely practical and ornamental.

Origin

Jianshui County is located in the eastern part of Yunnan Province. The terrain is high in the south and low in the north. The Wulao Peak in the south is the highest point with an elevation of 2515 meters. The discovery of the pottery balls and pottery net pendants dating back more than 3,500 years in the Yanzidong Neolithic Site in Jianshui County proves that Jianshui had primitive pottery craftsmanship as early as the Neolithic Age, and Jianshui ceramics sprouted in the late Neolithic Age.

History

Jianshui Zitao went through the Han, Tang and Song dynasties and grew up in the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties. There is a saying of “Celadon famous in Song dynasty, blue and white porcelain famous in Ming dynasty and Zitao famous in late Qing dynasty”.

In 1921, Jianshui Zitao Pottery won the Fine Arts Award at the Panama International Fair.

In 1953, at the National Folk Arts and Crafts Exhibition held in Beijing, Jianshui Zitao Pottery was listed as one of China's four famous potteries by the Ministry of Culture.

In July 2016, the former AQSIQ approved the implementation of geographical indication product protection for "Jianshui Zitao Pottery".