A small compressed-shape teapot

Here is one small compressed-shaped teapot.

In the 90s, Yixing factory produced a set of ten small teapots. These teapots all have different designs, shapes and colours. Theses pots are called the elegant series of ten pots. They are exquisitely made and straight away become collectors' favourite pots.

This compressed-shape teapot is one pot from that series. The pot is well made and the clay is of a fine quality zisha. The only problem is its compressed shape which means it cannot hold a lot of tea. Anyway, it is still a nice pot to brew tea and enjoy its beauty.

 

With the steady depletion of zisha clay, it is not easy to find teapots made from old good quality clay. Do you know, there are more than 20000 potters in Yixing. They all depend on the zisha clay for a living. If every potter is busy making pots, the zisha reserves will definitely be depleted one day. There are some smart potters who not only make pots, but openly storing the precious clay in huge quantities. Some even reported to have tonnes of zisha in their possession.

Apart from potters, other businessmen also start to buy and keep the precious zisha clay and hope to reap profits in the future. As storage space is cheap in country villages, it won't cost much to horde the clay for years. This happens to all other scarce resources like the seal stones, high quality wood and puerh tea.