Museum exhibition unfolds history, culture of famed purple clay teapots
Source: Shanghai Daily |
April 30, 2011, Saturday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
More than 100 antique Yixing zisha (purple clay) teapots and artworks are on display at the Minhang Museum through the end of May, giving visitors an historical tour of the development of Yixing clay craft. These exquisite wares feature delicate textures, beautiful colors and refined shapes. The exhibits, which include 100 teapots, the most famous of the Yixing clay ware, and 20 smaller items, are on loan from the Yixing Pottery and Porcelain Museum.
Some of the artifacts were made by craft masters like Gu Jingzhou (1915-96), Wang Yinchun (1898-1976), Zhu Kexin (1904-86) and Jia Rong (1919-2008).
Artists imaginatively carved the clay into shapes such as lotus and decorated them with intricate patterns of landscape, fruits and plants. Take a closer look and you find figures like petals, bamboo and ripples on the body of the teapots. Poetic inscriptions, calligraphy, paintings and seals are also engraved. Some pieces have beautiful lids shaped as frogs and exquisitely designed handles.
"The craftsmanship is impressive, and I am interested in learning about the process of making Yixing zisha teapots," said Xu Lin, a visitor to the museum.
Zisha teapots are used for brewing superb green tea. It's said that the tea flavor is absorbed by the clay, so with an old pot, you can just pour in hot water with no tea leaves and get a perfect cup of tea with a wonderful aroma. Soap should never be used when the teapots are rinsed out, and a pot should be used only to steep one type of tea to avoid infusing too many flavors.
Zisha teapots are well-ventilated. They can retain heat, reduce oxidization and maintain the freshness of the tea leaves. They grow lustrous with age.
Dingshu town in the city of Yixing in Jiangsu Province is the cradle of zisha production. Skilled craftsmen there pass their techniques down from generation to generation. Another highlight of the exhibition is a chronicle of the history and development of Yixing zisha teapots and how they are made. The most common types of stoneware used as raw materials are showcased. They include purple, red and green sandy clays mined in Yixing.
The clay comes from deep underground, sometimes under heavy sedimentary rock formations, and can be found in seams as thick as one meter. The clay contains a high degree of iron oxide, which gives the clay its reddish hue.
Unlike common earth clay we think of as mud, raw zisha clay comes in the form of rock. It takes a number of refining steps to turn it into a malleable substance.
Once removed from the ground, the clay is exposed to sunlight until it dries. The dried clay pieces are then pulverized into fine particles. The clay powder undergoes air screening, and the screened clay is mixed with water into a thick paste. Air bubbles are removed, and then the clay is ready to use.
The museum exhibition also displays the tools of wood, copper, leather, horn and bamboo used in the teapot-making process. It's said that there are hundreds of tools for zisha teapot making.
The most valuable pots are shaped by hand, requiring artistic sensibility, while cheaper ones are produced by slip casting.
A wooden bat is used to forge the clay, which will roll into a thin and long strip and be cut into the sizes needed. It will then be pinched together to form the basic shape of the body of a utensil. A wooded paddle helps the body be precisely formed into the desired shape. Various parts will be assembled and carefully adjusted and polished before firing.
The firing temperature is between 1100 and 1200 degrees Celsius.
The craft of Yixing zisha teapots dates back to the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644). The story goes that during the reign of the Jiajing Emperor (1522-66), a man called Gong Chun saw people making water tanks with local clay and decided to use the material to hand craft a fine quality teapot. He became known as the creator of zisha teapots.
The teapots thrived alongside the development of China's tea culture and were extolled in Chinese verse and paintings.
The Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) witnessed a renaissance in interest in zisha teapots. They became treasured possessions of the imperial court. It was during that era when glazed enamels were applied to the teapots.
Zisha clay is also used in making flower vases, figurines, glazed tiling, tables and ornamental rocks.
Some of the artifacts were made by craft masters like Gu Jingzhou (1915-96), Wang Yinchun (1898-1976), Zhu Kexin (1904-86) and Jia Rong (1919-2008).
Artists imaginatively carved the clay into shapes such as lotus and decorated them with intricate patterns of landscape, fruits and plants. Take a closer look and you find figures like petals, bamboo and ripples on the body of the teapots. Poetic inscriptions, calligraphy, paintings and seals are also engraved. Some pieces have beautiful lids shaped as frogs and exquisitely designed handles.
"The craftsmanship is impressive, and I am interested in learning about the process of making Yixing zisha teapots," said Xu Lin, a visitor to the museum.
Zisha teapots are used for brewing superb green tea. It's said that the tea flavor is absorbed by the clay, so with an old pot, you can just pour in hot water with no tea leaves and get a perfect cup of tea with a wonderful aroma. Soap should never be used when the teapots are rinsed out, and a pot should be used only to steep one type of tea to avoid infusing too many flavors.
Zisha teapots are well-ventilated. They can retain heat, reduce oxidization and maintain the freshness of the tea leaves. They grow lustrous with age.
Dingshu town in the city of Yixing in Jiangsu Province is the cradle of zisha production. Skilled craftsmen there pass their techniques down from generation to generation. Another highlight of the exhibition is a chronicle of the history and development of Yixing zisha teapots and how they are made. The most common types of stoneware used as raw materials are showcased. They include purple, red and green sandy clays mined in Yixing.
The clay comes from deep underground, sometimes under heavy sedimentary rock formations, and can be found in seams as thick as one meter. The clay contains a high degree of iron oxide, which gives the clay its reddish hue.
Unlike common earth clay we think of as mud, raw zisha clay comes in the form of rock. It takes a number of refining steps to turn it into a malleable substance.
Once removed from the ground, the clay is exposed to sunlight until it dries. The dried clay pieces are then pulverized into fine particles. The clay powder undergoes air screening, and the screened clay is mixed with water into a thick paste. Air bubbles are removed, and then the clay is ready to use.
The museum exhibition also displays the tools of wood, copper, leather, horn and bamboo used in the teapot-making process. It's said that there are hundreds of tools for zisha teapot making.
The most valuable pots are shaped by hand, requiring artistic sensibility, while cheaper ones are produced by slip casting.
A wooden bat is used to forge the clay, which will roll into a thin and long strip and be cut into the sizes needed. It will then be pinched together to form the basic shape of the body of a utensil. A wooded paddle helps the body be precisely formed into the desired shape. Various parts will be assembled and carefully adjusted and polished before firing.
The firing temperature is between 1100 and 1200 degrees Celsius.
The craft of Yixing zisha teapots dates back to the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644). The story goes that during the reign of the Jiajing Emperor (1522-66), a man called Gong Chun saw people making water tanks with local clay and decided to use the material to hand craft a fine quality teapot. He became known as the creator of zisha teapots.
The teapots thrived alongside the development of China's tea culture and were extolled in Chinese verse and paintings.
The Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) witnessed a renaissance in interest in zisha teapots. They became treasured possessions of the imperial court. It was during that era when glazed enamels were applied to the teapots.
Zisha clay is also used in making flower vases, figurines, glazed tiling, tables and ornamental rocks.
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