Nixing Teapot — Gold Calligraphy, 220ml

A handmade teapot in Nixing pottery, the dense, naturally dark clay of Qinzhou — one of China's four famous pottery traditions. The straight-sided "Dou Jin" form, a flat lid and a simple ring handle keep the lines calm, and the body is engraved in gold-filled brush style.

A poem in calligraphy runs along one side, a bamboo-and-rock painting decorates the other. The verses are "Bamboo and Rock" by the Qing poet Zheng Banqiao: the bamboo grips the green mountain and will not let go, its roots set in broken rock; battered a thousand times it only grows stronger, whatever wind blows from east, west, south or north.

A fitting piece for a tea table. The maker's name for this pot is Yong Zhu (咏竹), “Ode to Bamboo”.

The spout, lid hole and handle sit on one straight line, and the inside shows the concentric throwing rings of true hand-making. A cluster of holes at the spout base filters leaves and is easy to rinse clean.

Nixing clay is unglazed and polished smooth; it will warm up and deepen in colour with use. Capacity about 220 ml.

The shape is called Dou Jin (斗金). “Dou” is the old Chinese measuring vessel for grain — a straight-walled, practical bucket; “jin” is gold.

The name echoes the auspicious saying 日进斗金, gold arriving by the measure every day, and the pot follows it: upright walls, a flat lid with a small button, nothing extra. Nixing is listed among China's four famous potteries (with Yixing zisha, Jianshui purple pottery and Rongchang) and is protected as national intangible cultural heritage.

The clay changes colour in the kiln, so every pot comes out slightly different — the colour you receive may differ a little from the photos. Made by hand, so the size can vary by up to about 10%, which you will not feel in use.