Teapot in the Shape of a Plum Blossom

Shi Dabin Chinese

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 201

The invention of the teapot is often credited to potters working in the Yixing district of Jiangsu Province sometime in the sixteenth century. It is thought that these potters adapted the shape of a wine ewer to meet the needs of tea aficionados who had begun using steeped leaves rather than powdered tea.

Teapot in the Shape of a Plum Blossom, Shi Dabin (Chinese, active 1620–40), Stoneware (Yixing ware), China

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Teapot in the Shape of a Plum Blossom, Shi Dabin (Chinese, active 1620–40), Stoneware (Yixing ware), China
Teapot in the Shape of a Plum Blossom, Shi Dabin (Chinese, active 1620–40), Stoneware (Yixing ware), China
Teapot in the Shape of a Plum Blossom, Shi Dabin (Chinese, active 1620–40), Stoneware (Yixing ware), China
Teapot in the Shape of a Plum Blossom, Shi Dabin (Chinese, active 1620–40), Stoneware (Yixing ware), China
Teapot in the Shape of a Plum Blossom, Shi Dabin (Chinese, active 1620–40), Stoneware (Yixing ware), China

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