Why is purple clay black? Purple Clay is a poetic name for the special clay found in YiXing, China. It is basically grey coloured clay. Depending on the soil mineral compositions it will be fired to a varied number of hues, ranging from red to brown and even bluish to greenish hues, of course black too. The black colour is a rarity and is usually used to produce special pots for mass production.
The Cultural Revolution is a bane and a boon. A bane in that the artisans are considered classless and no longer work on artistic teapots. A boon because they are forced among to work among the million workers and transfer their skills and most importantly their work is considered on the same level as everyone. A bigger boon if you find one of the common mass produced teapots made by them. The artisans imprint their name on the lower handle or inside the lid cover.
The Gongfu Teapot shown on the left is a 12 cups teapot. This meant that it will fill 12 small cups of tea. The sprout is also interesting, rather than the usual tapered end joined to the sides of the pot, it bulges slightly and has a fine filter on the inside to keep tea leaves away from the sprout. This ensures a smooth and quick flow of the brewed tea that is essential for the GongFu tea. The sides of the teapot is top heavy and tapers gracefully to the bottom. It has a low cover with a finely rounded tip. The teapot has been fired at high temperature resulting in its almost ceramic structure. Its fine dense quality is perfect for brewing the famed Oolong class of teas, notably the AnXi Tie Kwan Yin (Iron Bodhisattva) and Wuyi Ta Hong Pao (Great Red Robe).
This teapot is a rarity and many of the Teochew black teapots as well. I will feature some of this is my later blogs.
The Cultural Revolution is a bane and a boon. A bane in that the artisans are considered classless and no longer work on artistic teapots. A boon because they are forced among to work among the million workers and transfer their skills and most importantly their work is considered on the same level as everyone. A bigger boon if you find one of the common mass produced teapots made by them. The artisans imprint their name on the lower handle or inside the lid cover.
The Gongfu Teapot shown on the left is a 12 cups teapot. This meant that it will fill 12 small cups of tea. The sprout is also interesting, rather than the usual tapered end joined to the sides of the pot, it bulges slightly and has a fine filter on the inside to keep tea leaves away from the sprout. This ensures a smooth and quick flow of the brewed tea that is essential for the GongFu tea. The sides of the teapot is top heavy and tapers gracefully to the bottom. It has a low cover with a finely rounded tip. The teapot has been fired at high temperature resulting in its almost ceramic structure. Its fine dense quality is perfect for brewing the famed Oolong class of teas, notably the AnXi Tie Kwan Yin (Iron Bodhisattva) and Wuyi Ta Hong Pao (Great Red Robe).
This teapot is a rarity and many of the Teochew black teapots as well. I will feature some of this is my later blogs.
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