Nixing Teapot — Bare Clay, 110ml

A small handmade teapot in Nixing pottery, the dense, naturally dark clay of Qinzhou — one of China's four famous pottery traditions. No engraving, no glaze: just the bare clay, with the red-brown and smoky grey drifts that the kiln leaves on it.

The straight-sided "Dou Jin" form, a flat lid with a small button and a round ring handle keep the lines calm. About 110 ml — a proper gongfu size for one or two people.

The inside shows the concentric throwing rings of true hand-making, and 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.

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.