Chaozhou Tea Boat VI - Wild Clay

Wild Clay Chaozhou Tea Boat - by Muzuri Ware

A vessel for the water, and a resting place for tea.

Inspired most closely by the rounded forms of the traditional 潮州茶船 · Chaozhou tea boat, this vessel swells gently around the middle before drawing back towards its base and rim. The soft, continuous curve gives it a generous presence, while its depth creates a natural basin for collecting the water of the tea ritual.

The tea boat is the quiet cornerstone of 潮州工夫茶 · Chaozhou gongfu tea. Rather than a large draining tray, it gathers the water used to warm and rinse the vessels, allowing the teapot or gaiwan to remain at the centre of the tea table.

Its body is formed from wild Cornish clay, hand-harvested by Kyri Mouzouris, layered with other locally gathered clays and river sediment. The materials are brought together much like the landscapes from which they came, coast, river and earth meeting within a single body.

Across the exterior, an ash-based glaze settles unevenly over the clay, combining earthy brown with softer beige and mossy green. The surface is deliberately weathered and granular, recalling stone, bark and lichen-covered ground. Inside, the clay is left unglazed, retaining its raw material character beneath the water.

A familiar form, returned to the earth.

岩 · Rock Collection

Earthy, tactile and grounded. The 岩 Rock collection draws from the rocky character of Yanwu Peak, its stone, texture and mineral presence.

Muzuri Ware by Kyri Mouzouris

A ceramics studio founded by Kyri in Highgate. Drawing on architectural design and practical training in carpentry, blacksmithing and ceramics, Kyri creates functional ware through a material-led approach, exploring landscape, geological processes and the character of locally sourced materials.