Makers › Master Craftsmen
Shi Dabin
Late Ming Yixing potter, son of Shi Peng, who turned from large teapots to small ones and whose Shi pots were treasured by Ming and Qing literati
A craft workshop centres on a potter's wheel holding a tall celadon vase, amid racks of red lacquer boxes, an embroidery frame with a floral design, shelves of celadon ware, carved wooden panels and stacked logs, while one craftsman works at a table and another stands at a glowing kiln.
Also known as Hao Shaoshan
- Roles
- Master Craftsmen
Shi Dabin, known as Shaoshan, was a Yixing potter and the son of the master potter Shi Peng. Zhou Gaoqi's Yangxian minghu xi ranks him first among the masters: he first made large pots after Gong Chun, then, after hearing Chen Jiru and his circle discuss tea in Loudong, switched to small pots better suited to brewing. He mixed sand into the clay and made plain, elegant shapes; his Shi pots were famous far and wide. His pupils included Li Zhongfang and Xu Youquan. The Palace Museum holds a teapot of his dated to the Wanli reign.
Life and times
Dates Dates unknown; active from the Wanli reign of the Ming into the early Qing