Intangible cultural heritage · Handmade ceramics
Earth, fire, and hands that remember.
Sheshan Kiln digs native clay at the foot of Sheshan mountain, blends it with mountain wood ash, and fires every piece at 1280°C — vessels that carry a landscape in their glaze.
Since 2017About Sheshan Kiln
Every vessel begins with a mountain.
Sheshan Kiln takes its name from Sheshan — the forested hill of Songjiang, Shanghai. Our clay is dug from the native earth at its foot, screened by hand, and blended with the ash of mountain brushwood into glazes we develop ourselves. No industrial slip, no outsourced blanks, no two pieces alike.
“Take the spirit of mountain and sea, and shape the beauty of vessels.”
Meet the makerFrom clay to kiln
The slow road from mountain earth to your table.
Five stages, seven to nine days, and no shortcuts. This is how every Sheshan Kiln piece is born.
Clay harvest
Native earth is dug by hand at the foot of Sheshan mountain — the origin of every piece we make.
Screening & wedging
Stones and roots are picked out; the clay is wedged again and again until only pure, even body remains.
Hand forming
Pinched, coiled or thrown — shaped entirely by hand, so no two vessels ever repeat.
Glazing
Glazes are mixed in-studio from Sheshan clay and mountain wood ash, then brushed onto the dried bisque.
Firing at 1280°C+
Bisque firing, glaze firing. Smart kilns hold the curve degree by degree until earth becomes ceramic.
Three signature glazes
Glazes born of one mountain.
Developed in our own studio from Sheshan clay and wood ash — each fired to a different temperament.
Tortoiseshell Glaze
Our homage to ancient kilns: mottled amber-gold over ink black, like frozen light on a sea turtle's shell. Each piece is a unique survivor of the flame.
Bamboo Green
The green of Sheshan's bamboo groves after rain — quiet, mineral, alive. A glaze built for daily tea and slow mornings.
Morning Mist
Soft grey-blues of dawn fog rolling off the hill. Powder-matte surfaces that change character with the light.
Fresh from the kiln
The current collection
The maker
Meet the hands behind the kiln.
Tong Zhangfa — BA in Literature from Fudan University, contemporary ink-wash artist, and founder of Sheshan Kiln. In 2017 he built a studio and kiln at the foot of Sheshan and taught himself to translate the textures of ink painting into glaze. His self-developed tortoiseshell, bamboo-green and morning-mist glazes are fired from local earth, and his pottery curricula now teach hundreds of children to shape clay with their own hands.
“Every texture is a conversation between earth and fire.”
Sheshan · Songjiang
Learn at the kiln
Get clay under your fingernails.
Sheshan Kiln runs its own pottery and painting curriculum — designed by founder Tong Zhangfa and taught at the studio beside the kilns. From kindergarten pinch pots to adult wheel-throwing weekends, everyone leaves with something they made themselves.
- Kids' clay class — Age-matched curriculum for kindergartens and primary schools
- Weekend workshops — Half-day hand-building sessions for beginners, all tools provided
- Glaze & firing masterclass — Go behind the kiln — mix glazes from Sheshan earth and wood ash
- Private studio visits — Book the space for teams, schools and collectors
Words from collectors
Held in many hands, kept in many homes.
“The tortoiseshell gaiwan is even more alive in person — the glaze shifts between amber and ink every time the light changes.”Maya L. · Tea collector
“You can feel the thumbprints. My morning mist mug is the only one in the world, and my kids know exactly why.”Daniel R. · Berlin
“We booked the weekend workshop as a team offsite. Everyone left with a wobbly, wonderful bowl — and a new respect for makers.”Studio Qiu · Shanghai