Teapot 15 — 茄段式 Qieduan-style — Eggplant form

We acquired this collection from our old friend Zhang Tao, who personally purchased the teapots in Yixing and brought them to Canada in 2014. Their exact production dates are unknown, but we believe they were most likely made in the late 1990s or early 2000s. Every piece is unique, with its own individual character and surface variations.

• Capacity: 400 mL
  
• Collection: Yixing Ancient Dragon Kiln Zisha
• Broad rounded body with generous shoulders
• Short upward-angled spout and circular loop handle
• Gently domed lid with a curved, hook-shaped finial
  

The shape

茄段式 Qieduan-style — Eggplant form

The full rounded body and curved stalk-like finial make 茄段 a stronger identification than the earlier “hooked finial” label. Wuxi Museum catalogs a modern Qieduan teapot. In his Chinese Writers Association essay, Xu Feng discusses this rounded eggplant form in relation to Gu Jingzhou and earlier melon/pear designs, while showing that the naming history is not straightforward. This pot resembles the shape; it is not attributed to Gu Jingzhou. [CN1] [CN2]

The story of the dragon kiln

In Dingshu Town (丁蜀镇), Yixing, Jiangsu, the Qianshu Ancient Dragon Kiln (前墅古龙窑) stretches up a hillside like a resting dragon. Dating to the Ming dynasty, its long firing chamber follows the slope: the incline encourages a natural draft, carrying heat upwards as fuel is fed through openings along the sides. It belongs to the landscape that nurtured Yixing’s purple-clay (紫砂) pottery culture.

The kiln is 43.4 metres long and was designated a nationally protected cultural site in 2006. Its history includes everyday pottery—basins, jars and other useful vessels—not only teapots. The local ceramic association calls it 活着的文物, a “living cultural relic.” Continued traditional firing preserves both the structure and the skills of the people who tend it. [K1] [K2]

In wood firing, the path of the flame, the atmosphere and deposits from the fuel can contribute to differences in colour and surface. These variations are part of the story supplied for this collection. 

Sources and attribution

1. CN1. 徐风：《天工开壶》节选，《人民文学》2021年第8期，中国作家网 — Chinese Writers Association literary/cultural essay.
2. CN2. 无锡博物院：现代郁军制紫砂茄段壶 — Wuxi Museum collection record.
3. S1. Hong Kong Museum of Art, K.S. Lo Collection of Tea Ware and Seals; C86.44, C81.401 and C88.33.
4. K1. Yixing Ceramic Industry Association, “前墅龙窑”.
5. K2. Yixing Municipal Government / Yixing Daily, “宜兴前墅龙窑获评‘国家工业遗产’,” 31 October 2025.