Hi everyone! I recently bought online, at an auction, this teapot: the first one for me. It was advertised as an yixing teapot from the 20th century https://www.catawiki.com/en/l/64600295- ... th-century
I asked on reddit for identification and some knowledgeable member observed that the clay is good and that it is probably chaozhou (he couldn't identify it because the seal is hard to read):
I recently asked one of my friend, who is an Yixing vendor and is really knowledgeable, an opinion too and he think the opposite: he told me he's sure that it's a fake pot and that the clay looks bad. He also advised to not use it and replace it for a better one whenever possible.
Now, from my point of view the clay looks good in person, it has lots of black spots (tie rong), it has a couple of little crevices (firing shrinkage), it feels silky and it makes a metallic high pitch note when hit with the fingernail. What concerned my friend is the look of the clay, which in his opinion looks "muddy and sandy", the "shabby" manufacture of the handle and the (utensils?) marks on the inside, the blackness at the base of the handle, the unusual seal.
what do you think? is it a real Yixing/chaozhou? can you recognise the maker?
thank you so much for the help! it is really important to me as I tend to bond with objects and I feel the need to have some certainties about this teapot, to a possible degree.
Photos attached are taken in inside/outside light, some of the photos are taken under led torch lighting (inside of the pot, inside of the lid, seal close-up). that should give a broad representation of the surface colour.
Various yixing experts have contrasting opinions about this teapot
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- inside photo
- IMG_1967.jpeg (138.22 KiB) Viewed 1925 times
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- inside photo
- IMG_1968.jpeg (128.82 KiB) Viewed 1925 times
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- inside photo
- IMG_1969.jpeg (172.19 KiB) Viewed 1925 times
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- surface
- IMG_2191.jpeg (203.08 KiB) Viewed 1925 times
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- lid
- DFE8A4D3-B692-4478-AD00-1088451F6478.JPG (149.36 KiB) Viewed 1925 times
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- handle close up
- 47C86BC0-B81C-4492-8F2A-43B87492894D.JPG (103.44 KiB) Viewed 1925 times
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- outside photo entire pot
- IMG_2178.jpeg (154.39 KiB) Viewed 1925 times
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- back and lid image
- 8F6855DD-C8E8-40D1-AE85-4FE30A9217AF.JPG (154.59 KiB) Viewed 1925 times
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- seal close up
- IMG_1951.jpeg (198.88 KiB) Viewed 1925 times
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- lid
- IMG_1971.jpeg (156.19 KiB) Viewed 1925 times
imo safe to use at the very least. doesn't look like a bad pot to me.
I already brewed some green tea in it, without knowing it could have been fake/possibly dangerous clay, and I felt it was really good taste. I'm questioning if I should need to do a water ph test for precautions (lead poisoning etc). frankly it seems excessive...
Last edited by mhegara on Sun Jan 15, 2023 4:48 am, edited 1 time in total.
thanks a lot for your comment!! I already tried it without knowing something like this could be potentially harmful, brewed green tea in it, and it tasted really good. I would feel really sad to fear using it: as it's my first zisha pot I developed an affection!
I agree with this. Not a chaozhou based on the clay and how it has been constructed. It looks like the type of denser hongni blend often advertised as zhuni in modern pots. I would be surprised if anyone can conclusively assess this clay, or track down a confirmed maker or workshop.
If it is certainty you a after, buying a used pot at some auction in that price range is not really a suitable way to go about it.
It looks like a Yixing pot made after 2000. It is on the lower end of usable pots, but buying on auction that means that you did fairly well as most pots on those auctions aren't usable. I can't recognize the maker, but it won't be very important for this type of pot, it is a mass produced teapot.
This is modern Yixing. It should be safe to use. I don’t see anything concerning about it. I think modern zhuni is underrated. While different from vintage zhuni, it is at least consistent and somewhat neutral. Ignore the seal entirely.
thanks a lot for sharing your opinion! I will try to get in touch with the reddit user who suggested it could be chaozhou to ask for an opinion again... it seem to be shared that this isn't chaozhou.Baiyun wrote: ↑Sat Jan 14, 2023 8:11 pmI agree with this. Not a chaozhou based on the clay and how it has been constructed. It looks like the type of denser hongni blend often advertised as zhuni in modern pots. I would be surprised if anyone can conclusively assess this clay, or track down a confirmed maker or workshop.
If it is certainty you a after, buying a used pot at some auction in that price range is not really a suitable way to go about it.
Unfortunately I bought this teapot before acknowledging that there are lots and lots of fake on the market, and I thought I would be pretty sure by seeing what seemed a good clay to me, the seal, and the sign of hand made building. Also, I asked on reddit forum and they gave me confidence on its good quality before buying... but I confess that I learned from it and from now i0m buying only from reputable sources: the last teapot I bought is from mudandleaves who I read is a really good seller.
thanks a lot for your observations! why would you say it is mass produced? what are the signs? just so I know for personal knowledge...steanze wrote: ↑Sun Jan 15, 2023 4:12 amIt looks like a Yixing pot made after 2000. It is on the lower end of usable pots, but buying on auction that means that you did fairly well as most pots on those auctions aren't usable. I can't recognize the maker, but it won't be very important for this type of pot, it is a mass produced teapot.
anyway, at least now I know it is yixing clay and that I can use it without worrying too much. thank again for the help!!
thank you very much for your help! the majority of people I questioned agree that it's safe to use at this point, and well I will gladly use it hahah. why do you say to ignore the seal? couldn't it be somewhat important to recognise the maker?
Seals are often reused, passed around, faked, etc. In this case the maker is likely no one of interest.
I’ve found tea and teaware knowledge on Reddit to be on par with Facebook: lots of neophytes playing expert.
Please enjoy your tea with your lovely teapot. What matters is the tea in your cup.
fair argument on the seal... the friend who told me that this is a bad quality succeed reading the seal by asking to some of his contacts:清香陶蓺 "Qingxiang taoyi"Baisao wrote: ↑Sun Jan 15, 2023 4:41 amSeals are often reused, passed around, faked, etc. In this case the maker is likely no one of interest.
I’ve found tea and teaware knowledge on Reddit to be on par with Facebook: lots of neophytes playing expert.
Please enjoy your tea with your lovely teapot. What matters is the tea in your cup.
any clue on what it could be?
love the quote by the way! it's extendible in lots of things in life in general. thanks for the inspiration
You are welcome! We tend not to share very specific details on how we can tell, because there is some risk that makers of fakes will use that information to make more convincing replicas. I'll just say that some details of the craftsmanship indicate that this teapot is not fully handmade.