“purple Jade and Golden Sand” is a term of praise and an elegant name for zisha. The reason why zisha is referred to as “Purple Jade and Golden Sand” is because Teapots made from high-quality purple clay, a type of zisha Mud, once fired and nurtured over time, become smooth and lustrous, ancient and elegant like purple jade. The yellow duan clay sand particles (which turn yellow when fired) mixed in or laid on the body of the pot may resemble stars scattered across the sky or snowflakes falling, creating a magnificent and beautiful sight, giving one the feeling of “Purple Jade and Golden Sand.”
Among the original zisha ore materials, only the purple clay containing a significant amount of duan clay components can produce works with the effect of “Purple Jade and Golden Sand.” Other types of clay rarely achieve this effect. The term “Purple Jade and Golden Sand” aptly describes some works made from purple clay, but it would be inappropriate to use it to describe all zisha works.
Works that could be described as “Purple Jade and Golden Sand” have actually appeared before, though they were not called that at the time; instead, they were known as “snowflake clay.”
Huang Yulin's Paved Sand Shengfang Teapot
Classic historical works of “Purple Jade and Golden Sand” include Huang Yulin's “Snowflake Shengfang” and “Snowflake Diliang” from the period after the Daoguang era of the Qing dynasty. These pieces are made from purple clay with paved sand, featuring evenly distributed and appropriately sized granules, arranged in a way that is both dense and sparse where appropriate, without exposed sand, sandwiched sand, or missing sand. The sand surface is smooth, the edges are neat, and there is no unevenness typical of sand-paving techniques from the late Ming and early Qing periods, nor any sense of a glaze covering the surface.
Huang Yulin's Paved Sand Diliang Teapot
Snowflakes fluttering across the surface of the teapot, magnificent and splendid, showcasing Huang Yulin's superb skills and artistic prowess. These pieces are considered rare masterpieces of sand-paving craftsmanship, unmatched to this day.
The realization of “Purple Jade and Golden Sand” can be achieved primarily through two methods:
One method is through the sand-paving technique, which involves laying down mature sand particles on the surface of the teapot after it has been formed. This approach is relatively easy to achieve, but very time-consuming. Without superb skills and deep artistic foundation, it is difficult to achieve this effect, with the key being to lay the sand uniformly.
The second method is through sand blending, which involves mixing coarse and fine mature or raw sand particles into the clay during the preparation process, then forming the teapot. This method is more challenging than the former, as unreasonable selection of materials and proportions often result in a glazed surface, uneven distribution of surface sand, or missing sand, making it difficult to achieve the desired effect. The key here is to blend the sand evenly.
Currently, there are many sand-paved and sand-blended works available on the market, but few are of exceptional quality. One reason is that the sand blending is often not uniform, leading to a glazed surface, uneven distribution of surface sand, or missing sand. Another reason is the unreasonable selection and proportioning of base material and sand material, resulting in disharmonious colors. Therefore, material selection is also crucial.
A thousand golds are easily obtained, but works that can truly be called “Purple Jade and Golden Sand” are exceedingly rare.