Among the many tea utensils, the silver pot as the top match will always be the "white moonlight" in the heart of tea lovers.
The ancients had a saying that "water is the mother of tea, and utensils are the father of tea".
Lu Yu, a tea sage, loved tea all his life and was proficient in tea ceremony. Its "Tea Classic" says:
"Porcelain and stone are both elegant utensils. They are not solid, so they are difficult to last. Use silver to make them the most clean."
Why is silver the most expensive for boiling water and making tea?
Make tea delicious: The ancients said that boiling water in a silver pot is "like silk", which means that the water is soft, thin and smooth like silk, with a sweet and round taste, which can effectively enhance the taste of tea.
Durable: A pure handmade silver jug is durable, not only can be used for a lifetime, but can also be passed down to future generations as a family heirloom. The silver pot is good, and everyone who loves tea knows it. But it is not easy to own a favorite silver pot.
First of all, silver pots are made of precious metals and are forged by hand. It takes a long time, often more than a month, so such a luxury utensil is naturally expensive. Secondly, handmade silver teapots are time-consuming and labor-intensive, so the output is bound to be scarce. Handmade silver teapots made by famous masters and masters are even more difficult to find. Buying a fake pot for 10,000 yuan is not only heartbreaking, but also harmful to health.
Today, Tongxinshe Teahouse recommends a 9999 gilt "bergamot" sterling silver teapot, which comes from the century-old teapot maker "Hongji Treasure".
The "Hongji Treasure" located in Heqing, Yunnan, began in the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty. It has been passed down for five generations and still insists on using traditional pot-making techniques to make pots.
This pot is in the shape of fruit bergamot. The shape of bergamot is vivid and lifelike. The concept is harmonious and ingenious. It is said that silver is in the shape of bergamot and the surface is gilded, which naturally inherits the beautiful meaning of "golden bergamot". Gold is wealth, so the meaning of bergamot also means wealth in hand.
——· Gilt bergamot silver jug ·—— • Dimensions: W11.5 X H7cm • Capacity: 120ml • Weight: 145g • Material: Sterling Silver 999.9 • Craftsmanship: handmade one sheet
There must be tea friends wondering what is gilt?
Gilding, one of the metal craft decoration techniques inherited in China for more than two thousand years, is mainly to mix gold and mercury into "gold tribute", smear it on the surface of the utensils, and then heat it to evaporate the mercury, so that the gold adheres to the surface of the utensils and does not come off , used to improve the brightness and luster of utensils, thereby enhancing the ornamental effect of gold, silver and bronze wares.
Gilding technology began in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. At that time, bronze gilding technology was quite mature. However, the records of gold-gilding technology can be traced back to the Liang Dynasty. Gold coating, gold coating, gold coating, and gold plating have different names, but the craftsmanship is actually the same; it was not until the Song Dynasty that the term "gilt" officially came into being. By the 1980s, there was a wave of gilding fever in the overseas art market. Since then, gilding technology has been widely applied to gold and silver jewelry and utensil decoration. The overall gilding of silver pots is more complicated. In addition, the gilding process is time-consuming and labor-intensive. It takes longer than making silver sheets, so craftsmen seldom make silver. The whole pot is gilt.