Hand-Carved Yixing Zini Shipiao Teapot with Plum Blossom

The Shipiao is built from a few decisive lines: a broad triangular body, a low lid, a bridge-shaped finial and a handle that answers the angle of the spout. This 200 ml Yixing teapot keeps that disciplined geometry while allowing the warm zini surface to remain tactile and unglazed.

Plum branches are carved directly into the clay before firing. In Chinese art, plum blossom is admired for flowering while winter still holds the landscape; it has therefore become an emblem of resilience, renewal and composure under difficult conditions. On a working teapot, the subject is more than decoration. It gives an object returned to every day a quiet reminder that spring begins before it is visible.

The carving is best read in changing light as the pot turns in the hand. Its appeal comes from the contrast between the Shipiao's measured architecture and the less predictable movement of a flowering branch.

• Origin: Yixing, Jiangsu, China
• Material: Unglazed zini Zisha clay
• Craft: Hand-carved plum-blossom decoration
• Form: Shipiao teapot
• Capacity: Approx. 200 ml / 6.8 oz
• Length: 13 cm / 5.1 in
• Body diameter: 9.5 cm / 3.7 in
• Height: 6.5 cm / 2.6 in
• Solo option: One teapot
• Complete Set: One teapot, one 150 ml / 5.1 oz fairness pitcher, one 80 ml / 2.7 oz tasting cup, four 20 ml / 0.7 oz cups and one strainer