Qin Mu Yun: Plum Blossom, a homage to Shi Dabin

Qin Mu Yun

Qin Mu Yun

National Master Industrial Artist
Winner of numerous national and regional awards
Works in permanent collections in various museums

Beginning her professional career first in ceramic at 21 and then specialising in Yixing teapots at 23 in 1978, Qin Mu Yun has fully committed in the creation of classic style teapots with new designs and delicately different fine Yixing clays. This is a following of the reputable Master Chen Guo Liang 陳國良 whom she had worked under in the beginning of this long and fruitful career. Her works have a distinct personal style of being intricately feminine, exceptionally refined in workmanships, in the clay and in the pot form, and at the same time highly utilitarian.

Genuine works of hers are rare in the market. It was pure luck that we have found three pieces to include in this release, and could afford to price them very accessibly for our users.

Shi Dabin’s Plum Blossom

Shi Dabin’s Plum Blossom, collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Shi Da-bin 時大彬 (cir 17th century, active at the later part of Ming Dynasty) was one of the most influential and innovative Yixing teapot artist. This Plum Blossom is one of the few surviving pieces. Highly regarded and collected by his contemporaries, it is generally agreed amongst collectors and historians that his works were reinterpretations of older traditional form styles, a rebellious statement in the ancient social context in Ming China. The typical reduced size that he popularised in his time was also a reflection of the change in tea infusion practice that was brought about by the development of tea processing, which began to yield finer qualities enjoyable through more delicate brews. To some scholars and myself, his refined use of clay and anti-glamour aesthetics are the keys to his art.

Qin Mu Yun: Plum Blossom, a Homage to Shi Da Bin

Green ash duan-ni

In this homage piece, Qin not only further reduces the pot size, but has also given it her feminine sensitivities with more refined and controlled curves and details, reflecting a more conforming, behaving personality rather than the wilder character that invented the original piece.

In the piece that is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the duan-ni had been given an uneven knead, in tune with the ancient artist’s casual and rebellious temperament and his vision of a new era. This kind of duan-ni has long been unavailable, Qin employs a not so popularly available one, the long fermented “green-ash” (qing hui 青灰) duan-ni, from a particular layer of ore between the layer of zisha and that of duan-ni. Inline with her mentality, she has given it ample kneading for visibly more even distribution of the “sand” particles and evenness in overall colour.

Authentic quality qing-hui duan-ni like this, processed so delicately, and fired so optimally are rare nowadays. This is one of the best quality one I have seen that is accessible. Such quality will mature quite readily to gradually acquire a deep and pleasing patina.

Packing: Tea towel pull bag in collector’s case

All Yixing teapots at Tea Hong are delivered with a pull-string towel sack in a collector box with cushions inside.

Note:

Unless otherwise stated, all Yixing teapots are new from the kiln. Please properly clean and prepare them before making tea in them. There is a proper procedure to do that. It is described at:
Yixing Teapots, An Introduction | Tea Guardian

We try our best to represent the colours of all tea accessories, including Yixing teapots in the product photographs. However, there are many factors that we cannot control, including those that affect how the photos are rendered in your computer or mobile device. There maybe interpreted discrepancies between the colour as seen on this site and that of the product you receive.