Label Type
Curator Pick of the MonthLabel
This teapot is made from unglazed reddish-brown clay, molded in a rectangular form. The exterior of the teapot is decorated with incised floral decoration consisting of two groups of flowers connected by a curving branch enclosing a column of Chinese characters all filled with black. The opposite side is decorated with three columns of incised black Chinese characters in cursive script calligraphy style. Two of the columns consisting of larger characters are a pair of couplet or two successive lines of verse forming a unit. This couplet is commonly seen at the entrance of a traditional Chinese tea house. It means that the tea steeped using mountain spring is very aromatic, like the dew on flowers. The interior of the teapot is lined with white porcelain. This is part of a tea set consisting of a teapot and eight tea bowls.Label Type
Exhibition LabelLabel
Unglazed Yixing wares were local to Jiangsu province in southeast China, and were valued by scholars for their simple earthiness. They were made in many shapes and were often decorated with poetic inscriptions, as here.
Traditionally, Yixing pots are used to steep black tea, as green tea is better prepared in a glass teapot.