Chinese Sand Pots

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By Barbara Tropp

Published 1982

  • About

Chinese “sand pots” or “sandy pots” earn their Chinese name because their exterior is off-white and sandy in texture, left unglazed to conduct the heat with maximum efficiency. They come in a variety of sizes and shapes, all striking and all remarkably inexpensive. Of greatest service is the squat-bellied sand pot, with a sandy, unglazed exterior and a smooth, fire-glazed interior ranging in color from milk chocolate to a deep chocolate brown.

Chinese sand-pot designs: all for stovetop use (Chinese have no ovens), made from the same combination of sand and clay, with an off-white, sandy-textured, unglazed exterior for best heat conduction, and a smooth, glazed interior to contain moisture

The one-handle, squat-bellied Chinese sand pot