Square and segmented teapots

Yixing teapots are made from a different method as compared to most conventional earthen wares which are  made using potter's wheels.  Yixing teapots are made by beating clay  into rectangular slabs which are cut into different segments for making the body, handle, sprouts and cover. These parts are then glued together to form the teapot. Round and cylindrical shapes are easier to make as the potter wrap the clay slab against a former to produce the shape. Globular shapes are achieved by continuous beating (Da shentong)  the top portion of the cylindrical body and eventually forming the globular shape. Great skills are required to make a perfect teapot that not only looks balance (the positions of the handle, sprout and cover) but has the elegance and beauty of an artistic masterpiece.


Da shentong method for round teapot

Segmented or square teapots are made by a slightly different method. The potter cuts the slab of clay into several pieces and later glue the edges of the clay together to form the square or segment teapots. The sprout, handle and cover are also in rectangular shapes which are not easy to fabricate. Even greater skills are required to make these teapots as dimensional accuracy is required to make sure that the shape is balance. During firing, warping is often a problem due to flat shapes in these pots which can create a lot of residual stresses during the firing process. As square or segmented teapots are not easy to make, it is often said that a square teapot is worth three round teapots.





Making a segmented teapot



Square and segmented teapots are elegant in their own right. There are some potters in Yixing which are famous in designing and making square teapots. Shi Xiaoma is one such potters who is gifted in creating challenging designs in the world of square pots.

I have in my collection some square and segmented teapots. There are shown below for sharing.

Teapot by Wu Yaoting

Segmented teapots by Kao Xiangjun & Xu Yuanming

Modified hexagonal shape by Fan Qihua
 

Hexagonal shape by Ding Yaping

Other shapes made by shaping and gluing slabs of clay other include the bell shaped teapots.

Pot by Fan Zoada

Pot by Xu Yuanming

Yet there is a slight modification in the square teapots where the edges are made round so that it is more comfortable to handle them. Many other shapes have since evolved from the simple 4 sided square teapots such as the pyramids and a combination of square and round shapes.

Ruyi teapot by Jiang Soonying

Pot by Xu Yuanming

 

And finally a teapot by Shi Xiaoma for sharing. This is a pot he made during the early years of his career at the factory, probably at the time when he was still an apprentice. The pot looks elegant and it makes a sound when water flows out its sprout.

施小马

施小马: 国家高级工艺美术师 高级工艺美术师、中国工艺美术学会会员，1954年生于江苏宜兴， 1998年作品《珏提壶》获“江苏省工艺美术陶瓷新品评比”一等奖；作品《扬帆壶》获“全国陶瓷专业设计评比”二等奖。1999年《垒壶》获“江苏省工艺美术陶瓷新品评比”二等奖。2000年作品《凌云壶》获“首届杭州西博会”银质奖；荣获“中国紫砂名人”称号。2001年作品《垒壶》获“杭州西博会”银质奖。