DESCRIPTION
Based on the Chinese name alone—平盖人物水平壶—this teapot is likely a form with a flat (平) lid, decorated with human figure(s) (人物), and a “horizontal” (水平) body or orientation. The exact technical meaning of 水平壶 is ambiguous in the literature (it can refer to a low, horizontally proportioned body, a side‑handle/axis arrangement, or simply a teapot with a broad, level profile), so the following gives a safe, general context.
Brief history: Specialized teapot shapes and decorative themes developed in China from the late Ming into the Qing and Republican periods, with Yixing and other regional workshops producing both classical and inventive forms. Figural decoration—molded, carved, or applied—became especially popular as teapot makers explored literati, theatrical, and folk subjects. Flat lids that sit flush with the shoulder appear across several historical types because they provide a neat silhouette and good seal.
Short note on the shape: The name implies a low, broad teapot with a flat cover and visible human-figure ornamentation. Such a shape tends to have a stable, low center of gravity and a clean horizontal profile; if the handle and spout align on a horizontal axis, pouring is controlled and balanced. Exact dating or workshop attribution cannot be determined from the name alone.
Wood-fired handmade Yixing teapot made from Duanni clay sourced from the original Huanglongshan mine. Xu Shun Wei.
