An Ode to Czech Potters
Posted: Fri Feb 28, 2020 2:24 pm
I originally had posted this on reddit, but some people on the tea discord recommended I post here for more/better feedback. Please let me know if I'm breaking any rules.
Hello everyone!
Recently there was a question posed talking about the lack of quality discussion on this subreddit. I agree and have decided to be the change I wish to see, instead of a whiny brat as I usually am. So, I'm going to talk about my favorite part of tea right now: Czech potters.
History
I don't have too much information on why there is such a large Czech gung fu/pottery scene, but here's a brief rundown of what I know. Any or all of this could be wrong, and some of it is unsourced things I remember, so if someone can correct me please do.
Best I can tell, the Czech tea movement starts with Ales Jurina when he opened up Dobra Cajovna , the first Czech tearoom after the Soviets were gone. Also at some point a large and high quality teashop selling puer and quality oolongs opened in Prague, and I'm unclear if they are the same people. Either way, the Czech tearoom scene became massive -- having a denser concentration of tearooms than even China.
This naturally lead to some of the people in the (relatively large and active) Czech pottery scene overlapping and they started to produce their own form of yixing/gung fu ware -- the first potter who seems to have done so was Petr Novák, but its unclear if he was the first to be making teaware in general, or if he was the first to be making gungfu ware. As this movement spilled out of the Czech republic, it became colloquially referred to as “euro ware” by the western/American online tea scene.
My understanding is that a lot of this movement is self taught, or at least follows from a Czech tradition. Much like modern Japanese pottery, it incorporates some lessons from contemporary Chinese pottery but is also heavily influenced by its cultural roots.
Edit: /u/SuaveMiltonWaddams gave us a great link! https://www.radio.cz/en/section/panoram ... phenomenon
The Pots
Onto the pots themselves! While there doesn’t seem to be as much uniformity as with, say, yixing pots, there’s still a lot of commonality between them. Most if not all of the main potters use a “glazed outside, raw clay inside” model and the glazes themselves are often visually similar to the wabisabi nature of some Japanese glazes. (https://www.artisticnippon.com/product/ ... eindex.htm)
There isn’t much info on the clay used, and it doesn’t seem like many euro potters work with the same clay. Often time they have private mines or caves that they guard as theirs, or share with friends, and there isn't any mythically defined clay region like with China. However, the euro clay seems pretty consistently good at heat retention and most potters prioritize getting porous clay, which often makes euro clay is quite muting. How this clay stacks up to 'authentic' yixing clay is debated, but it is overall considered good. If anyone has any more detailed links to euro clay sources it would be much appreciated.
The design and craftsmanship of most euro pots is impeccable. Contemporary pots tend to have tight fitting lids, excellent pours, and well designed clay filters. Notably, these pots are almost all wheel thrown and not slab built like Chinese pots are. And, while beauty is in the eye of the beholder, I don’t think many would deny that the glazes and form of the pots I’ve linked below are breathtaking.
My Pot
Now, for some more anecdotal reporting: this is my experience with this Jan Pavek pot. (http://www.janpavekpottery.com/teapot-008.html)
My main issue, and something I’d appreciate people weighing in on, is whether it is the design or the clay that makes it particularly suited for roasted oolongs in my experience. If anyone else has bought a Jan pot, please let me know!
Here are my thoughts:
- The lid is seated tighter/more precisely than any Chinese pot I’ve used, though I've never really held any of those $10k pots. It’s a tight enough fit that heat expansion can make it stay in when turned upside down. Sometimes this is actually a problem, as the lid will get stuck in the cooled pot and needs to be heated in order to take the lid off!
- You'll notice that the spout has a really tiny "drip catcher" on the opening. It isn't super exaggerated like some (which i think often ruins the silhouette), but it still prevents drips from running down the pot.
- The clay is a light sandy color, quite a lot like a mix of duani and luni, and quite rough and noticeably porous on the inside. It is comparable to some “rustic” yixing, but very different from most modern ones, and especially slip cast pots which tend to be smoother.
- The pour is very very smooth, but also a little finicky. The airhole is not on the knob, but offset. If the hole is on the spout-ward side the pour glugs air and does not run smooth, but if it is handle side it is perfectly smooth. While I prefer my airhole be on the knob so I can stop the flow, this is totally acceptable, and I suspect that to pot is too small for that.
- The heat retention of the pot is very good for it’s size, although I’ve never done any scientific measurements. The walls are reasonably thick, but I suspect the clay is doing a lot of the work.
Links to Potters and other Sites
Klasek Tea
Best I can tell, this czech language site seem to be the online hub for these potters to sell their ware. There are many talented potters here, some of which I’m more familiar with than others. Almost every potter here has a page on the site - http://www.darjeeling.cz/cz/autorska-tvorba
Petr Novák
I believe Petr was the first Czech potter to really blow up in the American tea scene and he's been doing it for around 20 years. Several notable tea figures (like Paul of white2tea) have pots made by him. His ware is available on his keramlk studio page, a website he founded with another potter — https://keramikstudio.artkeramika.cz/en ... k/teaware/
I also found this interview with him: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/adam-y ... e/66873425
Miroslava Randová
I don’t know much about her besides that she and Petr work together closely, and founded Keramik Studio together. I think they may be ex-partners? - https://keramikstudio.artkeramika.cz/e ... lable-now/
Jan Pávek
His website has most of his work, and gives a good selection, although he also sells a more limited selection on Klasek - http://www.janpavekpottery.com/
Here's a link to an interview with him: https://www.pekoeandimp.com/photo-blog/ ... -jan-pavek
Jiří Duchek
I know relatively little about Jiri, although his tea ware is very exciting. He seems to make many saucers which the Czech gung fu ceremony seems to prefer to trays. I've heard his pots described as "noticeably handmade" and have a much more rustic feel than the precise nature of Jan's pottery.
Best I can tell, this is his main site - http://www.keramikaduchek.cz/
here's this great GREAT video of him harvesting clay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzuuiPSljSc
pu-erh.sk
Another site that hosts a variety of artists - https://www.pu-erh.sk/product-category/artists/
If anyone else has more notable potters or links or history please let me know!
Thanks
Hello everyone!
Recently there was a question posed talking about the lack of quality discussion on this subreddit. I agree and have decided to be the change I wish to see, instead of a whiny brat as I usually am. So, I'm going to talk about my favorite part of tea right now: Czech potters.
History
I don't have too much information on why there is such a large Czech gung fu/pottery scene, but here's a brief rundown of what I know. Any or all of this could be wrong, and some of it is unsourced things I remember, so if someone can correct me please do.
Best I can tell, the Czech tea movement starts with Ales Jurina when he opened up Dobra Cajovna , the first Czech tearoom after the Soviets were gone. Also at some point a large and high quality teashop selling puer and quality oolongs opened in Prague, and I'm unclear if they are the same people. Either way, the Czech tearoom scene became massive -- having a denser concentration of tearooms than even China.
This naturally lead to some of the people in the (relatively large and active) Czech pottery scene overlapping and they started to produce their own form of yixing/gung fu ware -- the first potter who seems to have done so was Petr Novák, but its unclear if he was the first to be making teaware in general, or if he was the first to be making gungfu ware. As this movement spilled out of the Czech republic, it became colloquially referred to as “euro ware” by the western/American online tea scene.
My understanding is that a lot of this movement is self taught, or at least follows from a Czech tradition. Much like modern Japanese pottery, it incorporates some lessons from contemporary Chinese pottery but is also heavily influenced by its cultural roots.
Edit: /u/SuaveMiltonWaddams gave us a great link! https://www.radio.cz/en/section/panoram ... phenomenon
The Pots
Onto the pots themselves! While there doesn’t seem to be as much uniformity as with, say, yixing pots, there’s still a lot of commonality between them. Most if not all of the main potters use a “glazed outside, raw clay inside” model and the glazes themselves are often visually similar to the wabisabi nature of some Japanese glazes. (https://www.artisticnippon.com/product/ ... eindex.htm)
There isn’t much info on the clay used, and it doesn’t seem like many euro potters work with the same clay. Often time they have private mines or caves that they guard as theirs, or share with friends, and there isn't any mythically defined clay region like with China. However, the euro clay seems pretty consistently good at heat retention and most potters prioritize getting porous clay, which often makes euro clay is quite muting. How this clay stacks up to 'authentic' yixing clay is debated, but it is overall considered good. If anyone has any more detailed links to euro clay sources it would be much appreciated.
The design and craftsmanship of most euro pots is impeccable. Contemporary pots tend to have tight fitting lids, excellent pours, and well designed clay filters. Notably, these pots are almost all wheel thrown and not slab built like Chinese pots are. And, while beauty is in the eye of the beholder, I don’t think many would deny that the glazes and form of the pots I’ve linked below are breathtaking.
My Pot
Now, for some more anecdotal reporting: this is my experience with this Jan Pavek pot. (http://www.janpavekpottery.com/teapot-008.html)
My main issue, and something I’d appreciate people weighing in on, is whether it is the design or the clay that makes it particularly suited for roasted oolongs in my experience. If anyone else has bought a Jan pot, please let me know!
Here are my thoughts:
- The lid is seated tighter/more precisely than any Chinese pot I’ve used, though I've never really held any of those $10k pots. It’s a tight enough fit that heat expansion can make it stay in when turned upside down. Sometimes this is actually a problem, as the lid will get stuck in the cooled pot and needs to be heated in order to take the lid off!
- You'll notice that the spout has a really tiny "drip catcher" on the opening. It isn't super exaggerated like some (which i think often ruins the silhouette), but it still prevents drips from running down the pot.
- The clay is a light sandy color, quite a lot like a mix of duani and luni, and quite rough and noticeably porous on the inside. It is comparable to some “rustic” yixing, but very different from most modern ones, and especially slip cast pots which tend to be smoother.
- The pour is very very smooth, but also a little finicky. The airhole is not on the knob, but offset. If the hole is on the spout-ward side the pour glugs air and does not run smooth, but if it is handle side it is perfectly smooth. While I prefer my airhole be on the knob so I can stop the flow, this is totally acceptable, and I suspect that to pot is too small for that.
- The heat retention of the pot is very good for it’s size, although I’ve never done any scientific measurements. The walls are reasonably thick, but I suspect the clay is doing a lot of the work.
Links to Potters and other Sites
Klasek Tea
Best I can tell, this czech language site seem to be the online hub for these potters to sell their ware. There are many talented potters here, some of which I’m more familiar with than others. Almost every potter here has a page on the site - http://www.darjeeling.cz/cz/autorska-tvorba
Petr Novák
I believe Petr was the first Czech potter to really blow up in the American tea scene and he's been doing it for around 20 years. Several notable tea figures (like Paul of white2tea) have pots made by him. His ware is available on his keramlk studio page, a website he founded with another potter — https://keramikstudio.artkeramika.cz/en ... k/teaware/
I also found this interview with him: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/adam-y ... e/66873425
Miroslava Randová
I don’t know much about her besides that she and Petr work together closely, and founded Keramik Studio together. I think they may be ex-partners? - https://keramikstudio.artkeramika.cz/e ... lable-now/
Jan Pávek
His website has most of his work, and gives a good selection, although he also sells a more limited selection on Klasek - http://www.janpavekpottery.com/
Here's a link to an interview with him: https://www.pekoeandimp.com/photo-blog/ ... -jan-pavek
Jiří Duchek
I know relatively little about Jiri, although his tea ware is very exciting. He seems to make many saucers which the Czech gung fu ceremony seems to prefer to trays. I've heard his pots described as "noticeably handmade" and have a much more rustic feel than the precise nature of Jan's pottery.
Best I can tell, this is his main site - http://www.keramikaduchek.cz/
here's this great GREAT video of him harvesting clay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzuuiPSljSc
pu-erh.sk
Another site that hosts a variety of artists - https://www.pu-erh.sk/product-category/artists/
If anyone else has more notable potters or links or history please let me know!
Thanks