Sunday 28 July 2013

Fish turning into dragon

The teapot, fish turning into dragon, was a design created by a famous Yixing potter who lived in the 19th century by the name of Shao Dahen. This teapot is unique in a way that there is a dragon head which can move freely at the top of the cover. The dragon head has a tongue. When the teapot is tilted to serve tea, the tongue will stick out from the dragon mouth, without falling out. When the teapot is tilted backward, the tongue will retract into the mouth. A genius design developed more than a hundred years ago. On the body of the pot, there are waves upon waves that depict the rough sea. With the waves, a fish head sticks out. On the other side of the pot, a dragon head emerges from the water. Hence the name of the teapot is called fish turning into dragon. This is probably an ancient myth. This type of design was very popular among the teapot makers. Some became famous by perfecting the design of the pot. For instance, the waves, the scales on the fish and dragon and the aesthetic appearance of the dragon head on the cover.

Alans Museum has over the years, collected a number of such teapots in three different sizes, some comes with cups and others with three legs at the bottom of the pot.
This set comes with a plate and 4 cups
This side shows a fish head among the waves

The other side shows a dragon head emerging from beneath

These two are M and S sizes

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