Ageing Zhuni Clay

Teachronicles
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Wed Apr 03, 2019 11:37 pm

Chadrinkincat wrote:
Wed Apr 03, 2019 11:13 pm
Bok wrote:
Wed Apr 03, 2019 9:57 am
Brent D yes it is difficult from far away and with so little available information in English.

One solution - move over here, once you can molest and fondle the real thing, it gets a lot easier, not to forget to have good and trustworthy friends! :mrgreen:

You’re right to focus on the leaf, yet I think some teas are equally difficult to obtain as collect-worthy teaware.


There are litterly 1000’s of photos of authentic pots and reliable sources of information online that didn’t exist 10-15yrs ago. It obviously can’t compare to living in Asia but it’s definitely no longer the yixing dark ages it once was.

Imho this is probably the best time to be a collector in the west.
Couldn't agree more. Gotta plug the teapot 2 group on Facebook.
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Bok
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Thu Apr 04, 2019 12:48 am

Fitting to the topic: having some Rougui in a ROC period Zhuni biandeng, in the background a maybe-Zhuni from the 90s, more likely high quality Hongni-Zhuni blend.

Cheers!
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mudandleaves
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Sat Apr 06, 2019 10:02 am

Two Zhuni Xishi Teapots, one unseasoned, one that has been seasoned.
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Hongni Shipiao, unseasoned.
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mudandleaves
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Sat Apr 06, 2019 10:06 am

Two other clays and ores to compare. Dahongpao ore (a subtype of zhuni) beside a finished DHP teapot at the top left and right, and Zhuni ore and finished teapot on the bottom left and right:
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steanze
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Wed Jun 19, 2019 7:55 pm

Lao zhuni is not only about the material, but also about the processing.

As far as I know, most old zhuni was from Zhaozhuang, more recent mines are Xiaomeiyao and Huanglongshan.

Old zhuni was processed with water filtration (clay was placed in water, and the finest floating particles were collected). This contributes to the very fine texture of lao zhuni. Modern zhuni can be finely ground with other methods but in my experience it is not quite like it.

Then, lao zhuni teapots were fired in wood kilns with a single firing. Modern zhuni pots are fired in electric or gas kilns, and usually undergo multiple firings. In the first firing, the lid lip is made to be a bit larger, then it is filed in between the first and second firing to match perfectly the size of the opening. This is one of the reason modern pots have such tight fitting lids. However, some argue that multiple firings affect the porosity of the clay.

To my knowledge, it is correct that zhuni clay is still being mined, mostly from huanglongshan and xiaomeiyao (not from the zhaozhuang mine to my knowledge). As for other clays, there are several levels of quality, the better quality zhuni is available in China for not under about $300+. The really top material is usually in the hands of students of well known masters, who inherited the clay. At that level, it is actually pretty good, but still because of processing differences it is not the same as lao zhuni.
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