《云炉》"Yun Lu ~ Heavenly Cauldron", 178.7ml, Zhi Ma Duan 芝麻段泥, by Craftsman Gu Xiao Ming 顾小明 ~!Congratulations to Ms E.A.! 1655hrs 16th Apr 2026, Vineland! NJ!
https://www.realzisha.com/pages/fully-handmade-zisha-art-and-craft-and-tea-pairings
《云炉》
《云炉》Yun Lu! Heavenly Cauldron!
Yun Lu, an extremely Oriental and flamboyantly so!
Long luscious spout and an almost ostentatious and ravishing handle reminiscent of the trail of scarf that hangs from the heavenly fairies! Both the longish spout and handle test both the Craftsman’s skills and candidly but surely, the Craftsman’s luck! For the kiln is not forgiving of such svelte sculptural ZiSha motifs and designs! This is one piece that got through unscathed and not just that, it is perfect!and beautiful!
1. Yes, we savour the overarching and upsweeping spout,
2. The long flowing and looping handle. Invitingly and Superbly satisfying to go through the loop with one finger, press with thumb on the wide handle, and lift off!
3. Craftsman Gu finds the lid challenging to craft too! But he accomplishes it, all for the sake of beauty and functionality! The inverted motif allows easy to “hook” it off with confidence and surety. This knob is easy to make tea then.
4. Craftsman Gu also diligently crafted the base with a generous curvature, dotted with three ovoid feet.
NA DI 捺底 ~ BASE CONSTRUCTION upon a SUMPTUOUSLY curved base!:
The base is not a simple flat surface, and Craftsman Gu further the case by carefully and diligently coaxing in a Na Di base. The three tripod feet are carefully attached to the base plate. A very sturdy placement, every time on your tea table! Excellent form. Experience only gained through painstaking efforts through the years.
Shrinkage of Fully-Handmade ZiSha,
Craftsman Gu Xiao Ming 顾小明 thanks you dearest friends for your grandest support to the honest and dedicated Craftsmen left to fend the Fully-Handmade ZiSha Art. Enjoy his diligence, superb, classic handwork with this Yun Lu 云炉 and let his work accompany you on your tea journey!
Here with us in our happy family of true ZiSha connoisseurs, you witness 90-120 photos taken of EACH Fully-Handmade ZiSha work here.
Compare this to elsewhere: factory bosses of jigger-machining non-zisha pots contribute downstream to their retailers: 5-10 stock photos for each non-zisha pot model, used to sell a stock of 10, 20, 30 jigger-machined non-zisha pots per model. I.e. 5-10 photos to sell hundreds of one model.
We at RealZiSha, take 90-120 photos, fresh, of EACH, ONE, Fully-Handmade ZiSha work. Together with our sacrificial and hardworking Craftsmen and Artists committed to honest true Fully-Handmade ZiSha Art and Craft, we at RealZiSha go the eons' distance.
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Explained, https://www.realzisha.com/blogs/news/actual-zisha-landscape-at-yixing , the Craftsman by selling his hard-worked ZiSha craft at $190-$240, $45-$65 goes to the cost of the craft, inclusive of the fees for the firing for the kiln operator (three times per pot), the packaging boxes, and between $32 to $52 for the clay (Zi Ni Di Cao Qing, Duan Ni and upwards) used per pot. Craftsman takes 3 days (fastest 2.5days) to craft a pot.
If he works 30 days a month without a single day of rest (no family time), he will craft 10-12 pots.
If he crafts for 25 days (five days of rest a month), his output will be 8-10 pots.
The success rate for Zi Ni (e.g. Di Cao Qing, Lao Zi Ni, Da Shui Tan etc) and Duan Ni (e.g. Jiang Po Ni, Qing Hui Duan, etc) is 70% on average. Some times the whole batch of 10 may fail. We have seen our Craftsmen suffer like this very often.
The success rate for Zhu Ni (e.g. Xiao Mei Yao Zhu Ni) pots is 60%, or 70% with most optimism and at the very, very best. Unfortunately.
All of us at RealZiSha of course, hope for one another, professional colleagues and all, that all the pots will survive firing at the kiln successfully.
[For ZiSha models/designs that are very challenging and more complicated to craft, the time taken to craft will be longer, and the failure rate will be higher as well. Zi Sha by its virtue, have the highest shrinkage rate of all ceramic clay. Zi Ni and Duan Ni thus have that 70% success rate, while Zhu Ni has even higher shrinkage rate and thus even lower success rate (the lowest of all ceramic clay.)]
Our Craftsmen are wholeheartedly committed to the cause of Fully-Handmade ZiSha Art and their strictness with their craft and dedication earn our respect. We give a big Thank You all of these Craftsmen, for they are saving what is our common precious tea culture: Tea + Fully-Handmade ZiSha Art and Craft. Your support is critical to their livelihood and the existence of this craft for all of the tea fraternity.
Thank you Friends!
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