This small teapot by Yeon tae Park is made for Gongfu cha style of Chinese tea - or Darye in Korea. Its preparation involves very brief, multiple infusions - the same tea leaves revealing a subtle variation in flavour with each new pour. While not entirely formal, the ritual still calls for beautiful tea utensils. Nonetheless these small teapots must pack many practical functions into such a small form.

Park manages to satisfy all the teapot’s practicalities while still producing a form that is fresh and exciting to both see and touch. He used a very dark buncheong clay. The iron content is not only traditional to buncheong but also adds to the “taste” of the teapot’s clay.

Inspired by the dujeong-gap (두정갑옷) armor of the Joseon Dynasty, Park grogged the dark clay body with contrasting dots of feldspar. Once the pot was formed, he coated it with an iron-oxide wash which was wiped away on the surface to reveal inlaid crystal dots.

How Park managed to distribute the feldspar so evenly is a mystery: it pops against the tea pot’s dark body, not only beautifully patterned but also exciting to touch. Park adds two more accents: a silvered finial on the lid and a splash of gold just inside the spout.

I can imagine the spout glinting with light as tea is poured from this pot. There is playfulness and drama to Park’s teapot that shows the versatility of buncheong - a traditional ware that still inspires artists. It is as modern and fresh today as it was centuries ago.

Comes with the signed and stamped wood box and CV.