Yixing

[Chadrinkincat]

@Mark-S

Clay and craftsmanship looks similar to F2 but it could be a random 90’s factory. 4 examples of lids from F2 w/ darkest one being the closest resemblance to your clay. Lots of large mica chips and somewhat rough feeling clay.

Close up of my darker pot.

[.m.]

To be honest, the details on your pot look a bit muddy (but so does the one on ZAG). I'd think that with ornamental pots like this a certain crispness of the lines would one of the highly desirable features which makes them command high price. Comparing to a one like this is not a fair game but it gives an idea.
Photo credit: @KyaraZen.

[DailyTX]

Chadrinkincat

The size is 200ml. The pictures were taken with flash. I will upload better ones on Wednesday.

Unfortunately, I have never had this kind of clay before. And I am no expert in this stuff. So I cannot say if it is legit or not. However, I will most likely keep it. I do not think that I would get a better one any time soon.

Bok
It would be nice to stop the flow on the way to the next cup. But you are right. It's just a gimmick.

Any idea what the seal could mean? Maybe it answers the question how old the pot is.

@Mark-S
Texture of the clay looks similar to the pair of flat pots I posted a week or two ago. I think the folks here dated them 90s, and they didn’t show up on the F1 catalogue. If you are planning to use your pot, test out the clay. That pair of pots I own take away a lot of flavors

[DailyTX]

Chadrinkincat That wasn’t how I meant it. I don’t know the price paid, but I would think this periods’ pots still pop up reasonably often? Chen HY, essence of tea etc.

80’s stuff is readily available but this specific design is rarely offered unless your willing to pay $500 for the one at ZAG.

Sadly, I can corroborate with Chadrinkincat. Bumping into a yixing with decorations is probably harder than finding a piece of Qing period porcelain. Once a while you see a yixing from earlier than 80s posted on eBay, and the bid price was so high that you may just want to invest in a ROC pot. I sometimes watch eBay just to see how high a price would bid for and LOL

[Mark-S]

I have got more pictures Earlier than expected, but the colors could be a little off.

[Mark-S]

3 seals on this teapot

[Mark-S]

That's what the clay looks like.

[DailyTX]

3 seals on this teapot

@Mark-S
Looks like the stamp is 万燕君

[Chadrinkincat]

@Mark-S

Too many crucial details wrong on this pot for it to be F1 imho. Clay, interior of lid, missing handle details on flat part and oddly too low on the pot. Overall shape and roughness of this pot points to another factory.

[Mark-S]

@DailyTX
I have heard that there is an online database of Yixing potters. Maybe the age of the potter could tell us more about the production date? Anyone knows where to find these information?

@Chadrinkincat
Thanks for your estimation. I am still thinking about returning it, but this would cost me about $45... I don't know.

[DailyTX]

DailyTX
I have heard that there is an online database of Yixing potters. Maybe the age of the potter could tell us more about the production date? Anyone knows where to find these information

@Mark-S
Let’s say if you found the artist, and information indicates that the artist worked in F1, it doesn’t tell you anything about when the artist made the pot. The experts typical date yixing based on the style, shape, clay texture/type, artist stamp. If all four items aligned then It’s a “good enough conclusion”, still not guarantee because talented forgers. Going back to the example, if the artist worked in F1, the artist can still produce pots in 90s, 2000s, etc. as long as the artist is alive. One good thing is the artist is not famous, so you can probably be certain this is not a forged pot.

[Chadrinkincat]

@Mark-S

Sadly this is one of the pitfalls of buying pots online. I’ve definitely made a few regrettable purchases. Your recent 70’s pot was a good find though.

Might not be worth returning just to get under $100 back. Maybe test this out w/ tea before you make a decision. It’s possible it’ll make a decent brew.

[Bok]

In this case I’d rather use the word repro than fake, the overall value for this kind of pot is way too low to make it worthwhile intentionally faking it. It is more a case of continuing to imitate older successful designs, which is what has been done since old times. No one would call a modern standard Shuiping a fake, just because it looks the same as it did for decades.

Use it and be happy about it, returning it probably is more annoying, take it as part of the tuition fee we all paid at some point...

[DailyTX]

I totally agree with the two seniors above
I haven’t met a person who involved in the yixing rabbit hole without tuition pots. If the price you paid is less than 200usd, I would probably keep it as a reference piece.

[Bok]

Because 100 yuan mass produced taobao pots can do all this kinda tricks, while 1500 yuan full hand ones, not always... Seems a good way to distract the customer's attention from more important parts of an yixing teapot, like the clay?

Exactly...

Maybe clay is more elusive. It can be difficult to judge it without using it. So some may stick to apparently easy “signs of quality”