Jian Shui Clay Plum Blossom M31 (Yellow) Teapot by Ma Lin

The history of Jian Shui purple pottery, which is also known as Southern Yunnan red jade, goes back hundreds of years. During the Song dynasty it was celadon; during the Yuan it was blue and white ceramics; during the Ming it was coarse ceramics; during the Qing it was purple pottery. Today, it is considered to be among the four famous types of Chinese pottery and represents the traditional folk art of Yunnan's Jian Shui county.

Jian Shui purple pottery takes advantage of rich and unique local deposits of red, yellow, purple, cyan, and white 5-color clay.

It applies multiple hand techniques including filled engraving, broken tablet style, and glazeless polish. No external or internal glaze is applied. Instead, meticulous polishing with local river rocks which are just a bit harder than the pottery giving the pottery its unique character and lovely finish. The pieces are described as having “body like iron, color like copper, reflection like a mirror, and sound like a chime.”  They possess their own antique character that sets them apart from other types of pottery and places them in the class of exceptional pottery.

The unique glazeless polish ensures the all types of Jianshui purple pottery are acid resistant, alkali corrosion resistant, breathable, moisture resistant, and insulated.

Another advantage of Jian Shui pottery is the use of Hong He county’s relatively un-tapped clays which when fired are more than twice as dense (and heavy) as Yixing clays.  These clays are also extremely pure and unadulterated by pollutants.