Object literature: Pottery has been produced in Yixing, in Jiangsu Province, since the Neolithic period. High quality Yixing clay comes from along the banks of Lake Tai near Nanjing Yixing, teapots are all hand-made, the hard clay is pounded with a heavy wooden mallet into a slab, specialised tools of wood, bamboo, metal and horn, created through the centuries, are used during the process.
There are three basic types of clay to make teapot: zisha, a purplish-brown clay; banshanlu, a buff-coloured clay, and zhusha, a cinnabar or deep orange-red clay. By mixing these clays, adding mineral colours, and varying the firing temperature and amount of reduction in the kiln, potters can achieve a wide range of earth tones: from beige to light brown, cinnabar red to dark brown with a tinge of purple and dark green to black.
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