A small Chaozhou red-clay teapot – Qing Dynasty
This teapot has a compressed pear-shaped body attached with a looping handle opposite the spout. There is a mark on the base reading 蕚圃督製 - E Pu Du Zhi (Made under the supervision of E Pu).
ChaoZhou red-clay pots are made of clay from Feng Xi located on the Feng Huang (Phoenix) Mountain, Chaozhou city, Guangdong province. They are hand-thrown on wheels (in contrast to Yixing pots which are hand-built) with fine grains of red clay imitating Yixing style. Many Chaozhou teapots have a round or pear-like shape, with a precise balance between the handle and the spout. The teapots are designed to have a small capacity (often no more than 150 ml), which fits well with the Gongfu tea ceremony's emphasis on brewing small amounts of tea with great care and attention to detail.
Chaozhou teapots stand out for their thin, light construction and quick heat transfer, making them particularly well-suited for brewing oolong teas. In contrast, Yixing teapots are known for their thicker walls and smoother, denser clay, which makes them versatile for a wide range of teas that benefit from slow heat retention and controlled flavor development. Each style is deeply tied to its local tea culture, with Chaozhou ware excelling in the Gongfu tea tradition, while Yixing ware enjoys broader appeal for various tea types.
Period: 19th Century
Size: Height 6 cm, length from handle to spout 10 cm
Condition: Very good condition, light wear, a minimal chip to the spout, no cracks or repairs found with UV-light.
Provenance: From an old private Swedish collection. It was part of the exhibition ”Mittens Rike, En unik exposé av 4000 års konst och konsthantverk från Kina, Borås Konstmuseum” in 1985 (No 569), and is illustrated in the catalogue.
SKU: 98
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