The Drum-bellied Handle Pot and the square seal on the bottom reading “Made by Shao Yunsi”
Early purple clay pots were mostly handle pots, as they were not used for Steeping Tea, but rather as water-heating utensils. With a handle, it was convenient to place them over fire or on a stove. Purple clay handle pots have been excavated from Song Dynasty kiln sites in Yangjiaoshan, Yixing, and the earliest dated purple clay pot in the Nanjing Museum collection is also a handle pot. It is said that Zhao Liang, one of the four great masters of the Ming dynasty, specialized in making purple clay handle pots, but actual examples are hard to find. Some may exist without his mark, leaving their attribution uncertain. After the late Ming Dynasty, purple clay pots began to be used directly for steeping tea, but the handle did not disappear. To this day, handle pots are preserved as traditional purple clay forms.
The pot shown in the figure is a purple clay handle pot, measuring 13.4 cm tall overall, with a flush-fitting lid, a flattened round knob, and a three-curved spout. Its body is shaped like a drum, both the lid and the base are flat, the belly is full, and there is a ring of decoration resembling drum studs at the shoulder, made of piled white clay. The handle is plump and forms a half arch above the pot, flowing and imposing. Judging from its size, this pot was used for steeping tea; judging from its texture, the clay color is deep purple, the sand quality is evident, and there are specks of yellow granules, known colloquially as “Osmanthus sand,” giving the pot a strong tactile sensation; judging from its craftsmanship, there are traces of bamboo knife scraping where the handle and spout meet the body. The interior shows clear signs of clay pieces being joined, and the spout has a single hole. This pot's form is quite unique and rarely seen. In particular, the handle's shape has an exquisite charm, faintly reminiscent of the large handle pot made by Shao Xumao during the Qianlong period.
On the bottom of the pot is a square seal reading “Made by Shao Yunsi.” The Shao family of Yixing has a long history of pot-making, producing master craftsmen through the generations from the Ming Dynasty to the present. Particularly notable are Shao Wenjin and his brother Shao Winyin, and Shao Gai from the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, Shao Yuanxiang and Shao Xumao from the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, and Shao Daheng from the Jiaqing and Daoguang periods. The maker of this pot, Shao Yunsi, was also a skilled potter of the Ming Dynasty.