Traditional Yixing Zisha ceramics and their effects on current ceramic arts

Traditional Yixing Zisha ceramics, originating from the Yixing region, on the shores of Lake Taihu in China' s Province, have the characteriscis of stoneware, and have been considered as the best teapot material in the World, due to their densely porous structure and their ability to preserve the aroma and the color of the tea leefs very well. Although some sculptures, vases, bottles were produced by Chinese masters and scholars, mostly ,teapots and tea sets were produced. These ceramics are made by Zisha ( purple sand ) clay, which has unique properties. This clay comes from mines in the Jiangsu region, with various colors such as; purple, red, green and blue. With the start of exports in 17th century, Chinese tea and Yixing Zisha teapots reached Europe and later America. Modern ceramic masters, designers and artists showed great interest in this unique traditional teapots. These products were imitated by some masters, and inspired some artists and designers. In this study, the history of Yixing Zisha ceramics, production techniques, and the works of important masters, were examined in detail. Their effects on contemporary ceramic art and design was observed by analyzing the works of artists and masters and predictions were made about the future potential of the Yixing Zisha ceramic tradition. Key words: Yixing, Zisha, clay, teapot