The shape of this teapot is known as "Xi Shi" (Chinese Characters:西施) which we are translating as "Ancient Beauty." According to the Comprehensive Chinese-English Dictionary, Xi Shi was "one of the Four Beauties of Ancient China during the Late Spring and Autumn Period." The modern connotation of this term is a person of great beauty, or simply a beautiful woman. According to some teaware specialists that we have spoken with, the Xi Shi shape may have originally come about as a tribute to the beauty of a woman's breast.