Yixing

[Youzi]

alejandro2high do you have pictures of that “laozhuni” ?

I can’t think of any good reason why laozhuni would be oily? It would only be oily from heavy usage... maybe they try to imitate the look of a well used old pot?

If cleaned any antique Zhuni I have seen, always becomes satiny but never oily. Or maybe your definition of oily is different than mine

Lao Zhuni is not strongly defined and different for each studio, but usually it means old zhuni, at least aged 10 year, and done with somewhat traditional processing, not doing much purification, so the resulting pot has iron specks on the surface.

For example this is Lao Zhuni, and usually on the market pots similar to this is called Lao Zhuni. It has nothing to do with Zhuni pots from the old times, to my knowledge.

Or sometimes zhuni, with a darker tone, then the usual red orange, and with a bumpy texture and iron dots is called lao zhuni.

[Youzi]

Every Yixing studio offers Be Spoke teapots, where you can choose the shape, the clay, the size, the firing temp, the type of firing, and how many times you wanna fire.

Usually the custom / be spoke order is the "top shelf" product of a studio, so you get their best clays made by their best artists.

Of course all this comes at huge price.

Is the be spoke clay from Yinchen you're referring to what they call Ming Guo Lv?

They have many kinds of clay available. Ming Gu Lüni is one of them, but I'm not yet sure what exactly Ming Gu Lüni is yet.

Because it's not a naturally occurring clay, but a mixed one.

[pantry]

Every Yixing studio offers Be Spoke teapots, where you can choose the shape, the clay, the size, the firing temp, the type of firing, and how many times you wanna fire.

Usually the custom / be spoke order is the "top shelf" product of a studio, so you get their best clays made by their best artists.

Of course all this comes at huge price.

Is the be spoke clay from Yinchen you're referring to what they call Ming Guo Lv?

They have many kinds of clay available. Ming Gu Lüni is one of them, but I'm not yet sure what exactly Ming Gu Lüni is yet.

Because it's not a naturally occurring clay, but a mixed one.

Thanks! Gao Jr. told me the mingguo lv was their top grade clay, but I'm not clear on what else they have that are reserved for custom pots. What's the term in Chinese do you use when asking about a studio's bespoken clay?

Wish they could send me a sample clay shards that I can choose from like when shopping for floor tiles

[OCTO]

Is the be spoke clay from Yinchen you're referring to what they call Ming Guo Lv?

They have many kinds of clay available. Ming Gu Lüni is one of them, but I'm not yet sure what exactly Ming Gu Lüni is yet.

Because it's not a naturally occurring clay, but a mixed one.

Thanks! Gao Jr. told me the mingguo lv was their top grade clay, but I'm not clear on what else they have that are reserved for custom pots. What's the term in Chinese do you use when asking about a studio's bespoken clay?

Wish they could send me a sample clay shards that I can choose from like when shopping for floor tiles

IMO, asking for the studio's bespoken clays is akin to handing them an open cheque , ready to party!.... A point to remember, high grade clays will only be attained by very senior artists / masters or children / grandchildren of grandmasters in Yixing. A few thousand USD might get you a nice spout or handle.... hehehehe... It's better to know your clay before asking for the "best of the best"... hehehehe.....

Cheers!!

[pantry]

They have many kinds of clay available. Ming Gu Lüni is one of them, but I'm not yet sure what exactly Ming Gu Lüni is yet.

Because it's not a naturally occurring clay, but a mixed one.

Thanks! Gao Jr. told me the mingguo lv was their top grade clay, but I'm not clear on what else they have that are reserved for custom pots. What's the term in Chinese do you use when asking about a studio's bespoken clay?

Wish they could send me a sample clay shards that I can choose from like when shopping for floor tiles

IMO, asking for the studio's bespoken clays is akin to handing them an open cheque , ready to party!.... A point to remember, high grade clays will only be attained by very senior artists / masters or children / grandchildren of grandmasters in Yixing. A few thousand USD might get you a nice spout or handle.... hehehehe... It's better to know your clay before asking for the "best of the best"... hehehehe.....

Cheers!!

Good point! FWIW, Gao jr just advertised the ming guo lv as their top clay, and provided a price range depending on materials when I inquired about their general pricing.

Problem is it's hard to learn about clay without seeing/using in person. This point has been raised by many tea drinkers wanting to dive into the world of yixing. I was lucky to inherit a few tuition pots, which saved me some money. Actually, I shouldn't speak too soon, since I haven't unboxed the pots from yinchen yet (ended up purchasing off-the-shelf ones)

[Youzi]

Is the be spoke clay from Yinchen you're referring to what they call Ming Guo Lv?

They have many kinds of clay available. Ming Gu Lüni is one of them, but I'm not yet sure what exactly Ming Gu Lüni is yet.

Because it's not a naturally occurring clay, but a mixed one.

Thanks! Gao Jr. told me the mingguo lv was their top grade clay, but I'm not clear on what else they have that are reserved for custom pots. What's the term in Chinese do you use when asking about a studio's bespoken clay?

Wish they could send me a sample clay shards that I can choose from like when shopping for floor tiles

The stuff they have is already processed, probably aged for a long time that's why it's the top clay.
I think they have all types. Zini, Di Cao Qing, Zhuni, Lüni, Ming Guo Lüni, and some kind of Duanni etc.

[mbanu]

Personally I find the best way to fight Yixing mysticism is to study the basics of ceramics, the stuff that applies to all the other normal residential and industrial stuff as well as teapots. Yixing teapots are members of a larger ceramic society, even if they do not want to acknowledge their uncool cousins who became toilets and flower pots.

[Bok]

even if they do not want to acknowledge their uncool cousins who became toilets and flower pots.

That was hilarious!

[Chadrinkincat]

They have many kinds of clay available. Ming Gu Lüni is one of them, but I'm not yet sure what exactly Ming Gu Lüni is yet.

Because it's not a naturally occurring clay, but a mixed one.

Thanks! Gao Jr. told me the mingguo lv was their top grade clay, but I'm not clear on what else they have that are reserved for custom pots. What's the term in Chinese do you use when asking about a studio's bespoken clay?

Wish they could send me a sample clay shards that I can choose from like when shopping for floor tiles

The stuff they have is already processed, probably aged for a long time that's why it's the top clay.
I think they have all types. Zini, Di Cao Qing, Zhuni, Lüni, Ming Guo Lüni, and some kind of Duanni etc.

Is clay from early 1960’s still available? A few people have suggested that this possible w/ CJF but many westerners have been a bit skeptical of claims like this.

[pantry]

Personally I find the best way to fight Yixing mysticism is to study the basics of ceramics, the stuff that applies to all the other normal residential and industrial stuff as well as teapots. Yixing teapots are members of a larger ceramic society, even if they do not want to acknowledge their uncool cousins who became toilets and flower pots.

Didn’t those factories use to make flower pots from the same zisha clay?

Hmm...the muting property of zisha might be good for toilet bowls

[pantry]

Finally unboxed Yinchen’s pots. Their IG photos are quite accurate I’d say—just more saturated color. See the photos. First two from yinchen‘s IG. Last one’s mine. Xmy lao zhuni 40mu

IG 1

34B15D01-D16E-4A8E-AD84-F0C6B526591E.jpeg (21 KiB) Viewed 19551 times

IG 2

F4645982-529E-4C94-8424-E26755DC68BD.jpeg (70.72 KiB) Viewed 19551 times

iPhone

89B392C6-7746-4195-866E-A7068BA7A8E7.jpeg (24.63 KiB) Viewed 19551 times

[alejandro2high]

@pantry Can you post a pic of the teapot profile?

[pantry]

pantry Can you post a pic of the teapot profile?

I’m prepping the pot right now (boiling) but here’s from yinchen Madrid IG

[DailyTX]

alejandro2high do you have pictures of that “laozhuni” ?

I can’t think of any good reason why laozhuni would be oily? It would only be oily from heavy usage... maybe they try to imitate the look of a well used old pot?

If cleaned any antique Zhuni I have seen, always becomes satiny but never oily. Or maybe your definition of oily is different than mine

Lao Zhuni is not strongly defined and different for each studio, but usually it means old zhuni, at least aged 10 year, and done with somewhat traditional processing, not doing much purification, so the resulting pot has iron specks on the surface.

For example this is Lao Zhuni, and usually on the market pots similar to this is called Lao Zhuni. It has nothing to do with Zhuni pots from the old times, to my knowledge.

Or sometimes zhuni, with a darker tone, then the usual red orange, and with a bumpy texture and iron dots is called lao zhuni.

@Youzi
Interesting to see so much impurities on a zhuni pot close up. I wonder for people who own antique zhuni pots can comment if you noticed impurities on yours pots?

[Bok]

Interesting to see so much impurities on a zhuni pot close up. I wonder for people who own antique zhuni pots can comment if you noticed impurities on yours pots?

Some, but not as many as on this one... actually only saw that many on lower quality Zisha.