Yixing

[LeoFox]

I guess I'll give it a bicarbonate/citric acid warm reset cycle and then see what it can do with my tea.

Unless a pot is really dirty and smelly, why would one want to clean it that agressively? If a pot is clean and well used there is no need to reset it.

Doesn't seem that aggressive to me. I put all used pots into percarbonate- unless I really really trust the previous owner.

[LeoFox]

Jumped into the deep end (for me at least) of a small 70s (I hope) HongNi pot.

57ml
~8.5s pour
high sound among my pots.

I guess I'll give it a bicarbonate/citric acid warm reset cycle and then see what it can do with my tea.






more pictures

Would it be possible to show some higher rez images of the clay close up both outside and inside (with flash)?

[Bok]

Jumped into the deep end (for me at least) of a small 70s (I hope) HongNi pot.

Maybe a clean is still a good idea to find out more about this shine the pot has. It almost looks like it's a coated pot, not full Hongni. It might be the light, but it seems a tad too shiny for Hongni.

If the shine is still there after the cleaning, it is likely either coated F1 or a fake (well made one then, as the workmanship looks alright).

I would always clean preowned and used pots and if it is just to raise it completely with my teas.

[kekstee]

The question then becomes, dump it into percarbonate or try my luck with a refund.

I don't have a flash or a really decent setup for product shots... went for some closeups of the clay though.

album has the full res crops.
inside the lid, rougher bottom to smooth dome:

_DSC4326.jpg (201.4 KiB) Viewed 3474 times

bottom rim:

_DSC4333.jpg (258.8 KiB) Viewed 3474 times

inside bottom:

_DSC4335.jpg (210.3 KiB) Viewed 3474 times

The album also has extra shots of the logo, outside and spout.
And there's the original listing which might have more controlled light.

[Bok]

And there's the original listing which might have more controlled light.

Yeah that looks more like it, so it was the lighting.
6-70s as a dating is questionable though. That 4-character seal chop is 70s, full stop. Some, including respected sellers do play this game of transition period... According to Dr. Lu these are without a doubt 1970s.

Price is ok though, so no damage done.

[kekstee]

Yeah the very shiny looking first highlights basically have 45° angles camera to surface and back to a daylight window. So worst case I guess.
Glad it does seem to check out though, digging through antique shops for clay pots is not an option around here

/e does an English translation and print of the Early Teapots book exist btw? And is it obtainable anywhere?

[Chadrinkincat]

Yeah the very shiny looking first highlights basically have 45° angles camera to surface and back to a daylight window. So worst case I guess.
Glad it does seem to check out though, digging through antique shops for clay pots is not an option around here

/e does an English translation and print of the Early Teapots book exist btw? And is it obtainable anywhere?

He has a bunch of translations of his book on his FB group. Look in the announcement section of the group

[kekstee]

I don't even have a fb account, but I can send a friend to have a look/ask if I don't waste their time.

[.m.]

And there's the original listing which might have more controlled light.

Yeah that looks more like it, so it was the lighting.
6-70s as a dating is questionable though. That 4-character seal chop is 70s, full stop. Some, including respected sellers do play this game of transition period... According to Dr. Lu these are without a doubt 1970s.

Price is ok though, so no damage done.

There is a 4-character Zhongguo seal listed by Dr.Lu under the seals of the 60's https://www.facebook.com/groups/teapot2 ... 294516902/
but it is notably different than the one on the pot. It is not clear from the text whether more variants existed...

[steanze]

There is a 4-character Zhongguo seal listed by Dr.Lu under the seals of the 60's https://www.facebook.com/groups/teapot2 ... 294516902/
but it is notably different than the one on the pot. It is not clear from the text whether more variants existed...

Yes, 4 character flat base thin ones are usually late 60s, curved base ones are usually 70s... the craftsmanship of the lid is quite different so that also helps to distinguish the period.

[Bok]

And there's the original listing which might have more controlled light.

Yeah that looks more like it, so it was the lighting.
6-70s as a dating is questionable though. That 4-character seal chop is 70s, full stop. Some, including respected sellers do play this game of transition period... According to Dr. Lu these are without a doubt 1970s.

Price is ok though, so no damage done.

There is a 4-character Zhongguo seal listed by Dr.Lu under the seals of the 60's https://www.facebook.com/groups/teapot2 ... 294516902/
but it is notably different than the one on the pot. It is not clear from the text whether more variants existed...

That’s odd. I asked him in person about this once and he said that 4 character is always 70… mmmh controversial. Factory pots are such a mess.

[Bok]

Actually so controversial, that this topic was part of the reason the fb group was closed…

[Bok]

Update:
Checked with Lu again, according to him, late 60s flat base sometimes had the 中國宜興 seal, as stated above already.

Apologies for the confusion.

[.m.]

@Bok @steanze Thank you for sharing!
Would it be correct to say that the 4 character Zhongguo seal first appeared only sometime during the Cultural revolution (after 1966)?
Is there any information as when did the different 6 character mengchen seals of 60s (and earlier) ended?

[Bok]

Bok steanze Thank you for sharing!
Would it be correct to say that the 4 character Zhongguo seal first appeared only sometime during the Cultural revolution (after 1966)?
Is there any information as when did the different 6 character mengchen seals of 60s (and earlier) ended?

As far as I know, some are being used until now : )