Yixing advice

[Andrew S]

I'm curious to learn why antique zhu ni pots have such a wide variety of colours, whereas modern zhu ni seem to be mostly orangy-red (and occasionally fluorescent red...).

Was the ultimate colour affected by the clay that was blended together with the zhu ni to make it workable, or was it firing conditions, or just the nature of the clay that they had access to back then?

Andrew

[steanze]

I'm curious to learn why antique zhu ni pots have such a wide variety of colours, whereas modern zhu ni seem to be mostly orangy-red (and occasionally fluorescent red...).

Was the ultimate colour affected by the clay that was blended together with the zhu ni to make it workable, or was it firing conditions, or just the nature of the clay that they had access to back then?

Andrew

The color variation observed in antique zhuni depends mostly on firing, and a little bit on clay composition/processing. Higher temperature firing can yield a darker red color. As it was more difficult to control the exact temperature in the wood kilns, you encounter a broader range of shades of orange/red in antiques. In addition, in the wood fire kiln you can also encounter reduction phenomena, leading to other hues including blackening of the teapot. Clay composition can also play a role. For example, zhuni from the xiaomeiyao mine tends to be a darker red than zhuni from huanglonshan or zhaozhuang.

[TeaTotaling]

Zhuni color comparison. Old vs New.

Worth mentioning that as far as old Zhuni is concerned, the colour palette is very broad. I’ve had both of these colour expressions above, and more orange, more red, light brown, purple and all of the above in one pot, so... what’s more useful to look at is the certain, hard to describe sheen, that is very different in old vs new pots.

The colour change is characteristic of Zhuni but also of high quality Yixing clays in general (at least in my experience).

Definitely worth mentioning. Pretty much a case by case, pot by pot basis. The sheen is certainly noteworthy, although I don’t have a wide range of comparisons.

[Bok]

The colour change is characteristic of Zhuni but also of high quality Yixing clays in general (at least in my experience).

As I’ve been misquoted elsewhere, I want to emphasise this again: some high quality clays turn very dark fast when filled with hot water, most often Zhuni, old AND modern...

I got one post 2000 Zhuni that has the same properties.

[czarzly]

Hi everyone,
I got this tin-inlaid Yixing tea set from the son of an ex ambassador in china. It was a gift given to ambassadors probably in the 80's (he didn't know exactly).

My question is this - as you can see in the photo, on the inside of the teapot there is a strange stain that didn't come out even after I boiled the teapot for half an hour. Any Ideas what this stain can be?
Can I use this teapot to brew tea?

Thank you very much!

[.m.]

@czarzly The teapot is what is called "neiziwaihong": the base clay (presumably zini but could be other clay, hard to tell from picture) is coated on the outside with a thin layer of red clay. In this case, a drop of it leaked through the spout inside leaving the stain - normally nothing to be worried about. You may want to check the pewter for lead.

[czarzly]

@.m. Thank you very much for the information!
I was worried it is glue of some sort.
I will check for lead.
One more question - do you think it is a good teapot for shu pu'er?

[.m.]

@.m. Thank you very much for the information!
I was worried it is glue of some sort.
I will check for lead.
One more question - do you think it is a good teapot for shu pu'er?

It might be a perfect one - only one way to find out

[Bok]

@helotea this looks like a modern teapot to me, not sure about provenance or period. Looks like it attempts to be something older but isn’t m.

[Bok]

Thank you. It is earlier than 1990,but I am not sure if it was made around 1963

No way this was made in the 60s… or 70-80s for that matter. I believe it’s post 90s or not Yixing at all even.

[steanze]

Thank you. It is earlier than 1990,but I am not sure if it was made around 1963

No way this was made in the 60s… or 70-80s for that matter. I believe it’s post 90s or not Yixing at all even.

I have to agree with the post 90s assessment. The pot is "pretending" to be made in 1963 (it has that year stamped on the base), but the workmanship and clay tell a different story.

[Bok]

I think it was obtained before 1990s. Yixing Zuni. A beautiful one. No problem.

Odd that you ask this on a English speaking tea forum… you have much better sources available in Taiwan to ask. Doesn’t look like Zhuni either…

[steanze]

Thank you. Anyway. Zuni, for sure. There are many Zuni, not only one type.
There are many experts in the world. Who knows. Thank you

Hi! The term 朱泥 is used in different ways in different places, in Japan they call all red clays 朱泥, including Tokoname red clay. If this is what you mean, your teapot might be 朱泥 in this sense.

However, in the context of Yixing, usually 朱泥 is used to refer more precisely to a type of water-soluble ore that is yellow in its prefired state. 朱泥 has been principally mined at the zhaozhuang mine, at huanglongshan, and at xiaomeiyao. The teapot you posted is not 朱泥 in this sense. Your teapot is different in color and texture from the antique 朱泥 teapots, and also from modern 朱泥 teapots from all these mines. If I had to guess more specifically the ore of your teapot, I would guess it is nenni ore with addition of iron oxide to make it redder. I hope you find this information helpful! Have a good day.

[Chadrinkincat]

Thank you. It is earlier than 1990,but I am not sure if it was made around 1963

No way this was made in the 60s… or 70-80s for that matter. I believe it’s post 90s or not Yixing at all even.

“seals don’t lie” Andy

[Baisao]

Additionally, the seasoning doesn’t look correct. It has stains in places that don’t accumulate tea stains from normal use.