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How were Yixing purple-sand teapots different from glazed porcelain vessels?
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Chinese pottery
Painted Pottery funerary urn, Neolithic Banshan phase, c. 3000 bce, from Yangshao, Henan province, China; in the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, Stockholm. Height 13.2 inches (33.5 cm).
Yixing purple-sand teapots and glazed porcelain vessels differed primarily in their composition, finish, and production methods:
- Glazing: Yixing wares are famously unglazed, deriving their varied colors—such as reddish purple, brown, beige, yellow, black, and blue—directly from the distinctive local clays used in their creation. In contrast, porcelain vessels typically feature a glasslike glaze, which is applied to seal the body and provide decoration.12
- Material and Body: Porcelain is a vitrified, nonporous ceramic made from a mixture of kaolin and petuntse fired at very high temperatures. Yixing wares are a type of stoneware, which is generally fired to a point of vitrification but remains distinct in its unglazed, earthy aesthetic.342
- Production: While porcelain was often mass-produced in large centers like Jingdezhen, Yixing teapots were individually crafted, sometimes to order, by reputable master craftsmen. These vessels were often precisely molded and finished by grinding on a lapidary’s wheel to sharpen their geometric or floral designs.14