World of Pots: Forms of Yixing Pottery Pt 3

Purple clay wares of Yixing have a variety of forms where aesthetic effects are achieved by the inherent form and structure of the vessels. Through a long period of development, Yixing potters have successfully created a wide variety of distinctive forms to showcase their creativity and professionalism in the art of teapot making. The forms are basically derived from nature, geometric shapes, natural objects and bronze artifacts.

Forms closely modelled on natural objects refer to those pieces which are copied directly from plants such as melons, pumpkins, fruits and nuts, or from animated objects such as fish and insects. These forms are further embellished with incised or carved details to enhance the illusion of reality. The aim is to achieved absolute or near absolute likeness to the objects they copied. Such a degree of life-likeness is possible because the potter has at his disposal a wide range of colours of Yixing clay, the term purple clay connotes many shades of red, brown, reddish brown, yellow, green and blue. From these colours, the potter can choose one that approximates most closely to the real object he intends to copy. It is no wonder that many examples of this category of Yixing ware are a tour de force of naturalism.