This egg-shaped pot is known as "Big Round Ball".
Crafted by highly regarded artist Zhu Xinnan （朱新南）, it is made from a special clay called Qingshuini (清水泥).
This purple clay from Yixing can be translated to English as Clear Water Clay.
Being well-suitable for making tea pots of the "rustic simplicity" style, Qingshuini is the favorite clay of many Ming dynasty artists.
A good Qingshuini exists rarely. The highest grade is known as the red type. This is because it acquires a reddish glow after seasoning.
Mr Zhu Xinnan has used the red variety of the Clear Water Clay to make this Yixing tea pot.
We have found that it seasons really quickly. After seasoning, it radiates a sense of respectability and friendliness.
It also endows gongfu tea ceremony with such natural ease and joy. Personally, I think its characteristics lies between that of a purple clay and red clay, and use it for brewing fragrant and lightly roasted oolongs.
This pot holds 350 milliliters and is suitable for 4 people drinking. It comes with 2 Yixing cups.
Calligraphy and Engraving
The calligraphy says:
观水欲知源. The 5 words can be translated as:
Gazing at the water, I wonder where's the Source?
This can be interrelated as follows:
When admiring the beautiful appearance of the tea liquor, my mind yearns to understand the origins of the various aromas and flavors.
You can also find Mr Zhu's seal at the bottom of the pot. The four characters says "Zhu Xin Nan Make".
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This Yixing Chinese Tea Pot has 14 holes behind the mouth.
We have tested it according to the guidelines of How to Buy Chinese Tea Set and found that it passes all the tests prescribed.
This tea pot will come with 2 cups made from lower grade Yixing purple clay.
The price includes courier shipping. For US and Western Europe, it will take 5 to 10 days to arrive. No other shipping charge is payable
Mr Zhu Xinnan was born in 1957 in Yixing from a long line of potters.
He graduated from the Jiangsu Industrial School in 1980, before taking up apprentice in Yixing Pottery Factory to learn creative design.
He enrolled in Central Institute of Art and Craft from 1992 to 1994. Three years later in 1997, he was awarded "China Outstanding Young Potter".
He went on to specialize in Yixing designs for the last 20 years. In China, he is highly regarded for his non-decorative, classical designs.
He currently has two Yixing titles. One is a National Level Assistant Craft Master (国家级助理工艺师). The other is Craft and Art Master (工艺美术师).
Although there are ten of thousands of potters in Yixing, only a few hundreds can be regarded as masters with official titles. Mr Zhu is one of them, which speak a lot of about his caliber and standing in China.
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