Shipiao

Look, then compare

At card size, look for the widening body and low bridge knob. In the larger view, follow the feet into the base: a side view cannot show the spacing of all three. The four examples photographed together in 《经典茶具210问》 have different wall curves, lid heights and handles. A perfectly straight wall is therefore too strict a rule. Compare the whole outline before assigning a subtype.

The CUHK example 1995.0221 is recorded as 8.2 cm high and 15.4 cm long. These are dimensions of that object, not of this schematic. The museum record contains conflicting period information; it is not used here to date the form.

徐京红《经典茶具210问》, PDF 158 (four examples; unnumbered photograph). CUHK 1995.0221.

Form#

The numbered parts describe the illustrated variant. Compare the examples above before treating any one detail as a rule for the whole family.

Knob

1arched bridge knob (桥形钮) pierced beneath

Lid

2cut lid (截盖) or flat inset lid (平压盖)

Spout

3short and straight (直流); on the Ziye version its end is cut off crisp like a bamboo tube, while on the Jingzhou version it swells smoothly from the lower belly

Handle

4inverted triangular loop (三角形把) balancing the angled spout

Body

5trapezoidal cone (梯形 / 石铫身筒), narrow at the mouth and wide at the base, with no neck

Base

6Three small feet distributed around the base; the side view does not establish their exact spacing.

²¹⁴⁵ Numbers mark the parts described under Form.

Compare the undersides of Yixing pots

In use#

• The Guanfu Museum article says the pot sits steadily in the hand and pours cleanly.²

Working volume#

Use the volume to the intended fill level, rather than the exterior dimensions or shape name. Leave room for the leaves and lid, and choose cups or a serving pitcher that can receive a complete infusion. Two pots of the same named form may have very different working capacities.

Variants and sub-types#

In July 2005, potter Xu Hantang described his own Shipiao at his home in Dingshu. He called the traditional outline parabolic and said he used a double parabola for his version. Compare his photographed pot with another Shipiao by tracing the curve from the shoulder to the foot. “Double parabola” is the maker’s description of his design.^{pp. 21, 35–36 · PDF 30, 44–45}

History#

1. Qing, Jiaqing eraSaid to have been created by Chen Mansheng (陈曼生, Chen Hongshou) and made by Yang Pengnian and Yang Fengnian among the Mansheng eighteen forms; Shanghai Museum holds two related Mansheng prototypes donated by Tang Yun: a 半瓢壶 (H 7.2 cm, rim Ø 6.6 cm) and an overhead-handle 石铫提梁壶 (H 18.4 cm).²³⁷
2. QingOne account says the form was inspired by the stone kettle in You Yin's painting of Su Dongpo's stone kettle (东坡石铫图); another tells of a Yuan-dynasty stone ladle Chen bought. The two stories differ.¹
3. Qing, Daoguang eraQu Yingshao (瞿应绍, courtesy name Ziye, 1780–1849, 壺公冶父) established the sharp-angled 子冶石瓢 in collaboration with Yang Pengnian (Flagstaff House K.S. Lo Cat. 45, H 7.3 × W 12.9 cm, carved with bamboo and seals 彭年 and 吉安) and Shen Xi (K.S. Lo Cat. 57, H 8.0 × W 12.7 cm; also Bartholomew 1977 Cat. 15, 'Qi-xiang's Teapot', H 8.5 × L 18.1 cm).²⁵⁶
4. 1948Gu Jingzhou made five (often cited as six) softened 大石瓢 pots in Shanghai (H 7.8–8.2 × W 16.5–17.2 cm), engraved with bamboo and calligraphy by the painters Wu Hufan, Jiang Hanting, Tang Yun and Dai Xiangzhou.³⁷
5. 20th centuryGu Jingzhou argued the name should be 石瓢 (ladle) and not 石铫 (kettle), citing the phrase 弱水三千只取一瓢.¹

Attributions are shown as the source states them.

Related#