The oldest Zisha teapot, the loop handle teapot was excavated from the Wujing tomb, which has been considered made before 1533.
The very begining of Zisha teapot, Gongchun imitated old monks’ conception in the Jinshao temple to make Zisha teapots in the Ming Dynasty.
Chrysanthemum Eight-petalled teapot was made by Li Maolin (1567-1619), one of the famous Zisha artists in the Ming Dynasty, who started to use independent kilns apart from other potteries and put Zisha teapots into saggers individually to fire them.
Shi Dabin, one of the most highly-respected Zisha artists in the Ming Dynasty, he developed new Zisha textures, new teapot shapes (e.g. Six faces teapot) and new techniques. He had also changed his preference to make more delicate small teapots and started to engrave on teapots surfaces.
Li Zhongfang, the best disciple of Shi Dabin, his exquisite technics won recognition from Shi Dabin. Shi Dabin even used to seal his own stamples on Li Zhongfang‘s teapots. The teapot of this photo is called Piao Leng Hu – the ridge at the corner of a roof teapot.
Xu Youquan’s Zisha teapots were famous of his various styles, different Zisha colors and out-of-the ordinary ideas in the Ming dynasty, this teapot is called Flat Shoulder Olive teapot.
Chen Zhongmei, from Wuyuan in the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, he gave up his porcelain work in Jingdezhen to start to make ceramics in Yixing, who was specially good at compounding different Zisha teapot clay, and carving portraits and still lives. The teapot is called Shuzhuchaiyuan Teapot – a bunch of bamboo fire wood round teapot.
Why is purple teapot called purple? I am in today’s Chinese or English dictionary between many American artis