Yixing

[Mark-S]

Of course! Nothing wrong with showing pots this is the point of this thread. Also I don't make the rules about what posts are allowed or not

Good, haha I don't want to annoy you with mediocre pots. There won't be many new pots this year however, but I'll post my experiences with the pots I already got.

What I am saying is that you might have the opinion you currently have because you don't have as much experience with more finely made ornate pots, and that you might have something to learn from my opinion - it might help you realize what else is out there

That's absolutely right. I am still learning and my opinion about Yixing pots changes constantly. There are some pots I considered to be of good quality a couple of month ago. Now I know that the quality is not that good and that they were likely made in the 90's.

For example, earlier you mentioned that the duanni pot had handmade calligraphy because it had "lines made to go straight with the calligraphy". I don't know where you learned that, but the teapots with hand carved calligraphy I have seen do not have such lines...

Everything I learn about tea / Yixing is from teaforum, teachat, Facebook and many tea blogs (most of them in English). Unfortunately, they sometimes tell you bullshit. For example, I boiled a teapot in tea (without the leaves) once to boost the patina development. Stupid idea, I know, and it did not work at all but it was mentioned multiple times. Regarding the calligraphy: I also have a F1 pot with calligraphy and without those lines. But I read somewhere that these characters on this pot would be multiple poems and that artists sometimes use these lines as a guidance. The author also said that calligraphy on similar pots is often made with lasers today (therefore no lines) and that the depth of the carvings indicate what tool was used. And that carvings often look more fluently on F1 pots because the same designs were used over and over again. I simply don't know what's correct and what isn't. It seemed to be plausible, but now I am not so sure if they are even poems, because I don't speak Chinese.

[Mark-S]

@steanze

This is what F1 calligraphy usually has to look like for me. I still believe that the pot is from the 70's and the steam cooker from the late 80's. Unfortunately, the pot was rejected by the Facebook group's admin (not Lu's group) for some reason. Maybe, I have to ask in Chinese next time. I already showed you the pot. It has to be on one of the 178 pages, but I could not find it anymore. If you think that these are bad examples, please upload a photo of your pot, so I can see what it should look like. I also got another one at my parents home, but the calligraphy is very simple.

[OCTO]

IMG_3003.jpg (147.63 KiB) Viewed 1291 times

@pantry
@TeaTotaling

Just sharing since we were discussing about staining in DuanNi.

Here are two 80s DuanNi pots I dedicate solely to aged Shou PuErh. It stained darker over time, but with proper care and attention, the patina and staining turned out pretty nice... hahahaha.... I would bring them out to use whenever I'm in the mood to use smaller pots. Both brews up a very decent cup of tea...

Cheers!

[Mark-S]

with proper care and attention

What do you mean by that (everybody does this different)? I really like the pot on the left

[Balthazar]

Balthazar Your comment about people spending disproportionate amount on tea wares reminds me of this interview of Zhou Yu, where he lamented the focus (for some) that had shifted to extravagant tea wares.

Interesting, thanks for sharing this interview!

[Chadrinkincat]

Unlisted prices are normally start at $1000. That pot is from master/famous section though so it’s probably $$$$.

It's by a lesser-known craftsman from the 80s, and it isn't very finely made, so I would be surprised if it's that expensive - but ZAG's prices are on the high side, so it is possible. If they put it in that section, you are right, it probably means that they consider a "high value" item.

Price is probably subject to change which could explain why they keep it private. Similar to to their 60’s pots which aren’t all over $1000. Still a bit odd though to include lesser known craftsman in that section.

[DailyTX]

Can any senior give me some input about this lid? The inner edge of the lid has a texture that reminds me of under fired clay, what do you think? Any possibility that this lid was made pre-factory?

[TeaTotaling]

pantry
TeaTotaling

Just sharing since we were discussing about staining in DuanNi.

Here are two 80s DuanNi pots I dedicate solely to aged Shou PuErh. It stained darker over time, but with proper care and attention, the patina and staining turned out pretty nice... hahahaha.... I would bring them out to use whenever I'm in the mood to use smaller pots. Both brews up a very decent cup of tea...

Cheers!

Got that Milk Chocolate patina going, I love how they look!

What size are those pots? Do you find larger pots to brew a better cup of tea?

[TeaTotaling]

@Mark-S This is amusing, but could be a rare coincidence nonetheless. The ZAG pot you like by Research-level senior craft artist-Ding Yaping is sold out!! Someone must have caught wind of all the talk and jumped on it..not a moment to lose, haha

I’ll still try to find out the selling price, so we can all know for certain.

[steanze]

Price is probably subject to change which could explain why they keep it private. Similar to to their 60’s pots which aren’t all over $1000. Still a bit odd though to include lesser known craftsman in that section.

Yes, that makes sense. The craftsman has some reputation, but it is not one of the very top. His name is 丁亚平. His top creative designs would still be very expensive, but the squirrels and grapes pot is a more common one made similarly by many other F1 craftsmen in the 80s. Here is an example of his more creative and refined works, these I'd consider already more awesome

https://auction.artron.net/paimai-art5010280032/

[steanze]

Can any senior give me some input about this lid? The inner edge of the lid has a texture that reminds me of under fired clay, what do you think? Any possibility that this lid was made pre-factory?

Good observation, this lid has a couple of features that are compatible with ROC. But, there are also modern replicas that get these details correct. It is hard to say without seeing the whole pot. If you are referring to the texture around the joint between the lid roof and the lid skirt, that texture is not the result underfiring, but rather a result of the way the clay was worked to improve the strength of the joint between the lid roof and the lid skirt You can see that the clay near the air hole at the center is "smoother", and near the skirt there is a circular tool mark that left fine lines impressed on the clay.

[OCTO]

What size are those pots? Do you find larger pots to brew a better cup of tea?

The Square base is about 180cc and the other is smaller... about 150cc. These pots are small compared to the usual pots I use regularly for PuErh.

Larger pots give you a different experience all together. @Bok recently posted some observations about brewing in larger pots.

Cheers!!

[OCTO]

Can any senior give me some input about this lid? The inner edge of the lid has a texture that reminds me of under fired clay, what do you think? Any possibility that this lid was made pre-factory?

Good observation, this lid has a couple of features that are compatible with ROC. But, there are also modern replicas that get these details correct. It is hard to say without seeing the whole pot. If you are referring to the texture around the joint between the lid roof and the lid skirt, that texture is not the result underfiring, but rather a result of the way the clay was worked to improve the strength of the joint between the lid roof and the lid skirt You can see that the clay near the air hole at the center is "smoother", and near the skirt there is a circular tool mark that left fine lines impressed on the clay.

Agree with @steanze. Good observation and input.

[TeaTotaling]

Price is probably subject to change which could explain why they keep it private. Similar to to their 60’s pots which aren’t all over $1000. Still a bit odd though to include lesser known craftsman in that section.

Yes, that makes sense. The craftsman has some reputation, but it is not one of the very top. His name is 丁亚平. His top creative designs would still be very expensive, but the squirrels and grapes pot is a more common one made similarly by many other F1 craftsmen in the 80s. Here is an example of his more creative and refined works, these I'd consider already more awesome

https://auction.artron.net/paimai-art5010280032/

@steanze Great intel, thanks for sharing! Now I’m totally curious how much the ZAG one went for. Considering the more refined pot went for almost 10k, I’m wondering what ZAG listed a lesser refined work from this artist at.

@Chadrinkincat, @steanze, and anyone else with the experience...what are some factors which could influence the cost of these pots? Initially, I was curious why there was no price listed, and now it makes sense that it can vary. I’m interested to know why.

Thanks

[steanze]

pantry
TeaTotaling

Just sharing since we were discussing about staining in DuanNi.

Here are two 80s DuanNi pots I dedicate solely to aged Shou PuErh. It stained darker over time, but with proper care and attention, the patina and staining turned out pretty nice... hahahaha.... I would bring them out to use whenever I'm in the mood to use smaller pots. Both brews up a very decent cup of tea...

Cheers!

Nice pots (and cups )