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The teapot is a product of applied art. It must be practical, pour well, feel good, look good, and balance pleasantly in the hand. To achieve these effects the maker uses shape and style. Teapots may be square or round, smooth or segmented, solid or graceful, abstract or made after particular shapes in nature. The artist may choose the pine, bamboo or plum tree, the orchid or lotus flowers, the dragon or the phoenix or both. Pots are made in the likeness of fruit, crops, fish, birds, turtles, frogs, squirrels and insects. Their shapes are inspired by stones, rocks, streams, and mountain and river landscapes. Or the artist may use the formal patterns of the tripod or the coin.
Purple clay, which has high iron content, gives its name to Yixing pottery, but this is not the only color to emerge from Yixing kilns. Red clay and yellow clay are also used, independently or mixed, and after firing many different colors or shades of color are produced.
The engraving of the clay by the artist or calligrapher and seal cutter must complement the subject. In such a pot, with its simple useful daily function, pouring a cup of tea, all the arts combine.
In recent years there has been an increase in admiration of Yixing teapots and consequently prices have jumped from a few dollars to thousands for a single pot. And with this increase in value there has been also an increase in quality. More time and care go into every pot, and many more are rejected and smashed when they come from the kiln. With the prices, standards have risen too.
The pot shows the maker of the potter. But perhaps the pot is the most revealing. You can feel it in your hands just as the maker did. Some potters like a little spout, some a heavy handle. Some reproduce trunks and knotty branches. Others have exquisite engravings of ratan or leaves. Each artist has some form that he or she likes best, and from every pot emerges a signature or masterstroke, individual to each article yet common to every product from that hand.
Each potter marks with his own seal every product from his hand (“Chop Mark”). This seal authenticates the work. The seal itself is chosen with great care. Every famous potter has his seal from a well known engraver. The characters of the seal are cut in stone. There is no finger substrate for the well-carved seal than unfired clay.
One artist tells us that “Beauty in purple clay is good for the mind. It will mould the sentiments, foster temperament, and improve health."
In other words, to be happy and successful you should drink tea brewed in the purple clay of Yixing.
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