Purple-clay Tea Set
The purple-clay tea set is produced in Dingshu Township,Yixing, Jiangsu Province. The purple-clay is high in iron and silicon content, featuring high plasticity. The tea set made from the purple-clay is not normally glazed (except Wenxiang cup and Pinming cup).The finished product is primarily purple, thus it is named the purple-clay cup.
This pottery can be divided into different colors,such as the purple-brown pottery made from the "purple clay",which is in amaranth or light purple the gray-yellow product made from the "green clay"in gray or gray-blue; and the vermeil product made from the "red clay" in red-brown.
The purple-clay pottery tea set has a long history in China.It is believed that Su Shi,great scholar of the Song Dynasty,designed a pot with a handle. In his memory,the pot was named "Dongpo Pot with Loop Handle."
In the Ming Dynasty,making loose tea in a small pot was popular. which led to the development of the puirple-clay pot.