4 Signs of a Real Yixing Teapot

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mudandleaves
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Thu Oct 11, 2018 5:46 pm

Besides the texture and color of the clay, there are 4 kinds of ‘imperfections’ which can be found on true zisha. Read about it on our latest blog post:
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https://www.mudandleaves.com/blog/4-sig ... ing-teapot
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Kale
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Thu Oct 11, 2018 7:29 pm

mudandleaves wrote:
Thu Oct 11, 2018 5:46 pm
Besides the texture and color of the clay, there are 4 kinds of ‘imperfections’ which can be found on true zisha. Read about it on our latest blog post:
.
.
I think that this is mostly true about modern yixing. The lack of mica is actually an important identifying mark of pre-1977 yixing teapots.
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Bok
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Thu Oct 11, 2018 8:18 pm

Kale wrote:
Thu Oct 11, 2018 7:29 pm
mudandleaves wrote:
Thu Oct 11, 2018 5:46 pm
Besides the texture and color of the clay, there are 4 kinds of ‘imperfections’ which can be found on true zisha. Read about it on our latest blog post:
.
.
I think that this is mostly true about modern yixing. The lack of mica is actually an important identifying mark of pre-1977 yixing teapots.
Also note that the earlier, the less tie rong are to be found as well, 60s has less or none than later.
Chadrinkincat
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Thu Oct 11, 2018 11:09 pm

Kale wrote:
Thu Oct 11, 2018 7:29 pm
mudandleaves wrote:
Thu Oct 11, 2018 5:46 pm
Besides the texture and color of the clay, there are 4 kinds of ‘imperfections’ which can be found on true zisha. Read about it on our latest blog post:
.
.
I think that this is mostly true about modern yixing. The lack of mica is actually an important identifying mark of pre-1977 yixing teapots.
Mica are white dots?

I was under the impression that mica referred to the pieces that look like shiny silver glitter.
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Kale
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Fri Oct 12, 2018 6:29 am

@Chadrinkincat - yup mica is the shiny silver glitter dots.
This is what I saw in the pic , but perhaps I’m wrong. It’s mostly visible with direct light
Chadrinkincat
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Fri Oct 12, 2018 7:01 am

Kale wrote:
Fri Oct 12, 2018 6:29 am
Chadrinkincat - yup mica is the shiny silver glitter dots.
This is what I saw in the pic , but perhaps I’m wrong. It’s mostly visible with direct light
that's what I thought. I've just never heard anyone refer to them as white dots.
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mudandleaves
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Fri Oct 12, 2018 11:06 am

Kale wrote:
Thu Oct 11, 2018 7:29 pm
mudandleaves wrote:
Thu Oct 11, 2018 5:46 pm
Besides the texture and color of the clay, there are 4 kinds of ‘imperfections’ which can be found on true zisha. Read about it on our latest blog post:
.
.
I think that this is mostly true about modern yixing. The lack of mica is actually an important identifying mark of pre-1977 yixing teapots.
It depends on the clay and the processing method. Generally the sandier the zisha, such as dicaoqing, the more visible the mica spots. less sandy zisha, like zhuni is known as 嫩泥 and is less likely to show mica spots.

There are also processes that can reduce the appearance of these spots.
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mudandleaves
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Fri Oct 12, 2018 11:15 am

Bok wrote:
Thu Oct 11, 2018 8:18 pm
Kale wrote:
Thu Oct 11, 2018 7:29 pm
mudandleaves wrote:
Thu Oct 11, 2018 5:46 pm
Besides the texture and color of the clay, there are 4 kinds of ‘imperfections’ which can be found on true zisha. Read about it on our latest blog post:
.
.
I think that this is mostly true about modern yixing. The lack of mica is actually an important identifying mark of pre-1977 yixing teapots.
Also note that the earlier, the less tie rong are to be found as well, 60s has less or none than later.
Yes, teapots fired at lower temperatures will not have much iron spotting. This is why you don't see as much of it on zhuni teapots, for example.

Dicaoqing is a good example of a clay that was commonly fired at a lower temperature than it is today. Firing at a higher temperature was too costly before but is now the standard in the industry.
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mudandleaves
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Fri Oct 12, 2018 11:20 am

Chadrinkincat wrote:
Fri Oct 12, 2018 7:01 am
Kale wrote:
Fri Oct 12, 2018 6:29 am
Chadrinkincat - yup mica is the shiny silver glitter dots.
This is what I saw in the pic , but perhaps I’m wrong. It’s mostly visible with direct light
that's what I thought. I've just never heard anyone refer to them as white dots.
Actually the Chinese term is 星片 or "star piece". 云母片 look like white dots when the light catches them, and this is what they look like in the reference photo for readers.

You can call them glittery-silver if you like.
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Bok
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Fri Oct 12, 2018 11:33 am

mudandleaves wrote:
Fri Oct 12, 2018 11:15 am

Yes, teapots fired at lower temperatures will not have much iron spotting. This is why you don't see as much of it on zhuni teapots, for example.

Dicaoqing is a good example of a clay that was commonly fired at a lower temperature than it is today. Firing at a higher temperature was too costly before but is now the standard in the industry.
Low firing is not necessarily the key here. What I was talking about are classic hongni factory pots from the 70s backwards to antiques. I do not know the exact specifics why, but those old pieces do not have much iron spots and many are medium or high fired. If you have a look at the finest museum pieces, those are spotless and almost perfect.

Just saying that iron spots is “a” possible clue, but the lack of is no guarantee either.

Mica spots on the other hand are a guarantee that the pot is no older than 80s ;)
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mudandleaves
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Fri Oct 12, 2018 2:57 pm

Bok wrote:
Fri Oct 12, 2018 11:33 am
mudandleaves wrote:
Fri Oct 12, 2018 11:15 am

Yes, teapots fired at lower temperatures will not have much iron spotting. This is why you don't see as much of it on zhuni teapots, for example.

Dicaoqing is a good example of a clay that was commonly fired at a lower temperature than it is today. Firing at a higher temperature was too costly before but is now the standard in the industry.
Low firing is not necessarily the key here. What I was talking about are classic hongni factory pots from the 70s backwards to antiques. I do not know the exact specifics why, but those old pieces do not have much iron spots and many are medium or high fired. If you have a look at the finest museum pieces, those are spotless and almost perfect.

Just saying that iron spots is “a” possible clue, but the lack of is no guarantee either.

Mica spots on the other hand are a guarantee that the pot is no older than 80s ;)
Yes, the 4 signs are clues to the authenticity of the clay. You may not be able to see the tiaosha, baozi, tierong and mica all together, but they are signs to look for if you are not sure if a pot is made of real zisha.

Yes, I agree that sometimes it can be difficult to see any iron spotting, this is the case with zhuni as well. The zhuni teapots I have seen do have some iron spotting, but very little and it is harder to find than on zini teapots.

Here is a teapot from 民国 Republic of China period (much older than 1980s). It is being sold by a trusted auction house 保利 Baoli (the Chinese equivalent of Sotheby's). It shows the white mica spots as well as tierong:

http://auction.artron.net/paimai-art5131210626/
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LeoFox
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Mon Nov 09, 2020 10:38 pm

Bok wrote:
Fri Oct 12, 2018 11:33 am
mudandleaves wrote:
Fri Oct 12, 2018 11:15 am

Yes, teapots fired at lower temperatures will not have much iron spotting. This is why you don't see as much of it on zhuni teapots, for example.

Dicaoqing is a good example of a clay that was commonly fired at a lower temperature than it is today. Firing at a higher temperature was too costly before but is now the standard in the industry.
Low firing is not necessarily the key here. What I was talking about are classic hongni factory pots from the 70s backwards to antiques. I do not know the exact specifics why, but those old pieces do not have much iron spots and many are medium or high fired. If you have a look at the finest museum pieces, those are spotless and almost perfect.

Just saying that iron spots is “a” possible clue, but the lack of is no guarantee either.

Mica spots on the other hand are a guarantee that the pot is no older than 80s ;)
Sorry for pinging an old thread, but i realize what Bok is saying here is further supported by this discussion:

viewtopic.php?t=238

Differences in purification processes are masterfully described in @Youzi 's blog:

https://www.teapotandtea.com/blog/

Looking at reliably determined pre 1977 pots, it seems some black spots and many white-yellow spots are expected. However it is hard to determine the presence/absence of shiny silicate spots or "mica chips" from pictures.

These Qing dynasty museum pieces look pretty eye clean, but i think i spot a few black speckles and many more white yellow speckles:

https://theme.npm.edu.tw/exh107/Yixingw ... .html#main

These archived old pots from TWL have plenty of white/yellow spots. Black spots are always present on them, but they are not as many of them (though some of them seem to have a lot of black spots)

https://teaswelike.com/archive/


Based on all this information perhaps the following can be said:

Pre 1977 pots have fewer black spots than post 1977 because of more thorough hands on purification process. However it doesn't mean no black spots. Also, more thorough purification with magnets can be done in contemporary era too, but it is an expensive process.

Non-shiny whitish-yellow mica spots are commonly present in pre and post 1977 pots.

Shiny mica chips are almost completely absent in pre 1977 pots unless they are of lower quality.

Synthetic clay tend to have no spots.

Synthetic clay tend not to have the pimples or indentations that are from clay shrinkage and shiftings during firing.
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StoneLadle
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Tue Nov 10, 2020 7:49 am

What about the tea??

How do all these things do the tea in or out?

Good for tea or not?

I just tend to buy the pots that resonate with nice clay that makes.my eyes go yes!
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Youzi
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Tue Nov 10, 2020 1:11 pm

StoneLadle wrote:
Tue Nov 10, 2020 7:49 am
What about the tea??

How do all these things do the tea in or out?

Good for tea or not?

I just tend to buy the pots that resonate with nice clay that makes.my eyes go yes!
No one cares about clay effect tea. Except for the western audience and very few people in Asia. Certainly no one in Yixing. That's just the reality of the situation sadly.
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Bok
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Tue Nov 10, 2020 6:43 pm

Youzi wrote:
Tue Nov 10, 2020 1:11 pm
StoneLadle wrote:
Tue Nov 10, 2020 7:49 am
What about the tea??

How do all these things do the tea in or out?

Good for tea or not?

I just tend to buy the pots that resonate with nice clay that makes.my eyes go yes!
No one cares about clay effect tea. Except for the western audience and very few people in Asia. Certainly no one in Yixing. That's just the reality of the situation sadly.
That explains a few of the more “interesting” clays and designs in modern pots.

To be fair; I think it’s always been like that. Potters and tea drinkers are in many if not most cases two totally different kind of people. With notable exceptions.
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