Page 238 of 393
Re: Yixing
Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2021 9:04 pm
by Bac
steanze wrote: ↑Fri Jan 15, 2021 12:03 pm
Bac wrote: ↑Fri Jan 15, 2021 11:23 am
Does it say mengchen mark? Or not?
One reason you are having difficulty getting an answer is that seal script is hard. The way characters are written on seals is not the usual writing. To make things worse, there are multiple possible ways to write the same character in seal script. So even native speakers who can read Chinese often have difficulty deciphering the characters on seals.
My impression is that this seal does not say mengchen, but you will want the opinion of someone with specific expertise on seal script. I don't know if there is someone with that type of expertise on the forum.
I think you are right, i had a native speaker traducing it as meng cheng, but she is no expert in the materia. Also probably she was influenced by me asking.
Re: Yixing
Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2021 10:06 pm
by OCTO
Bac wrote: ↑Fri Jan 15, 2021 11:23 am
Does it say mengchen mark? Or not?
@Bac
It's definitely not Meng Chen.... do you have a photo of the entire pot?
It says [Yixing Jiang An-Qing made 宜兴江案卿制] at the bottom of the pot and [An-Qing 案卿] under the lid.
Cheers!
Re: Yixing
Posted: Sun Jan 17, 2021 6:26 pm
by friso
Help from the community... ! I bought this pot a few years ago from Chawang. It is supposed to be a late 90s F2/5 "dark zini". So it is not sold as heini, but the clay is still mush darker than 70s and 80s zini, at least in my experience. I've read that the factories around this time used to add manganese oxide and other compounds to darken the clay. Is there anyway to know if this clay has been altered, other than to test it? Also, could it be harmful?
Re: Yixing
Posted: Sun Jan 17, 2021 6:41 pm
by Bok
friso wrote: ↑Sun Jan 17, 2021 6:26 pm
Help from the community... ! I bought this pot a few years ago from Chawang. It is supposed to be a late 90s F2/5 "dark zini". So it is not sold as heini, but the clay is still mush darker than 70s and 80s zini, at least in my experience. I've read that the factories around this time used to add manganese oxide and other compounds to darken the clay. Is there anyway to know if this clay has been altered, other than to test it? Also, could it be harmful?
It’s pretty safe to assume anything from that period had additives.
Only way to know what’s in it is to get it tested.
Re: Yixing
Posted: Sun Jan 17, 2021 7:44 pm
by steanze
Bok wrote: ↑Sun Jan 17, 2021 6:41 pm
It’s pretty safe to assume anything from that period had additives.
Only way to know what’s in it is to get it tested.
+1, post green label it's almost certain that barium was added, and possibly manganese oxide too. That does not necessarily mean that it is harmful to use it.
Re: Yixing
Posted: Sun Jan 17, 2021 8:36 pm
by OCTO
steanze wrote: ↑Sun Jan 17, 2021 7:44 pm
Bok wrote: ↑Sun Jan 17, 2021 6:41 pm
It’s pretty safe to assume anything from that period had additives.
Only way to know what’s in it is to get it tested.
+1, post green label it's almost certain that barium was added, and possibly manganese oxide too. That does not necessarily mean that it is harmful to use it.
++1 to both responses from
@Bok and
@steanze.
I’ve came across F2/F5 pots that churns out very good teapots. Once in a while you will find a gem!
Cheers!
Re: Yixing
Posted: Mon Jan 18, 2021 2:17 pm
by friso
All right, thanks people!
I guess then that the only thing that differentiates 90s zini from 90s "heini" is the amount of manganese oxide and other additives that was mixed with the clay ; meaning there are additives anyway. Puts things into perspective... maybe heinis are not so bad after all. And as
@OCTO suggests, 90s yixing pots feel like some sort of lottery at this point!
Re: Yixing
Posted: Mon Jan 18, 2021 4:02 pm
by Youzi
friso wrote: ↑Mon Jan 18, 2021 2:17 pm
All right, thanks people!
I guess then that the only thing that differentiates 90s zini from 90s "heini" is the amount of manganese oxide and other additives that was mixed with the clay ; meaning there are additives anyway. Puts things into perspective... maybe heinis are not so bad after all. And as OCTO suggests, 90s yixing pots feel like some sort of lottery at this point!
There isn't really Heini to begin with. The black color is usually achieved by reduction firing a high iron zisha ore, usually some kind of Zini. In the worse case, it's achieved by reduction firing a low iron whatever clay, mixed with manganese oxide to make it actually more black colored.
Re: Yixing
Posted: Mon Jan 18, 2021 5:34 pm
by Bac
OCTO wrote: ↑Fri Jan 15, 2021 10:06 pm
Bac wrote: ↑Fri Jan 15, 2021 11:23 am
Does it say mengchen mark? Or not?
@Bac
It's definitely not Meng Chen.... do you have a photo of the entire pot?
It says [Yixing Jiang An-Qing made 宜兴江案卿制] at the bottom of the pot and [An-Qing 案卿] under the lid.
Cheers!
Thanks alot! I was able to find some info, albeit in chinese :
http://www.12129.com/1news/show.asp?id=1514
Artis is from late qing era, mine is probably a repro.
Still a pretty well made bamboo motif, and very muting duanni.
Re: Yixing
Posted: Mon Jan 18, 2021 5:46 pm
by Bac
Re: Yixing
Posted: Mon Jan 18, 2021 5:58 pm
by steanze
Bac wrote: ↑Mon Jan 18, 2021 5:46 pm
On another note what do you guys think of this pot? Seller claims it to be mid 20Th, prefactory maybe?
A very clear modern replica.
Re: Yixing
Posted: Mon Jan 18, 2021 6:31 pm
by Bok
steanze wrote: ↑Mon Jan 18, 2021 5:58 pm
Bac wrote: ↑Mon Jan 18, 2021 5:46 pm
On another note what do you guys think of this pot? Seller claims it to be mid 20Th, prefactory maybe?
A very clear modern replica.
+1
Re: Yixing
Posted: Mon Jan 18, 2021 9:13 pm
by BriarOcelot
I'm fairly sure this is a modern replica pot - but I'm curious to what the stamped text says on the bottom - anybody willing to translate? It has zero stamps anywhere else.
It makes great tea though.
Re: Yixing
Posted: Tue Jan 19, 2021 3:43 am
by OCTO
BriarOcelot wrote: ↑Mon Jan 18, 2021 9:13 pm
I'm fairly sure this is a modern replica pot - but I'm curious to what the stamped text says on the bottom - anybody willing to translate? It has zero stamps anywhere else.
It makes great tea though.
It reads 直上江水流 , 孟臣。[ Zhíshàng jiāngshuǐ liú mèng chén ]. It relates to water flowing from the top of the stream. Here’s a literal translation from Google Translate - “Straight up the river stream , Meng Chen.”
Hope that helps! Cheers!!
Re: Yixing
Posted: Tue Jan 19, 2021 9:05 am
by BriarOcelot
OCTO wrote: ↑Tue Jan 19, 2021 3:43 am
Hope that helps! Cheers!!
It does - thanks Octo, just putting the pot through its paces and it seems to be a good performer.