Yixing

[Isarite]

@Chadrinkincat
Thank you for your guidance! I had my doubts, since the sticker was kinda suspicious (the letters were a bit strange), but I know now. The teapot is pretty nice anyway, and it is not like I bought it for the price of a real thing.
Anyways, I finally got a small one, though it is a decorative. Not sure if the shape is fit to make tea with.




It is a buddha's hand (the fruit) with a peanut (I think) on top. At first I thought It might not even be a real yixing since it was so light, but the clay looks fine and there are tool marks on the inside corresponding with the vines outside the teapot, and the teapot smells only of clay.

- Size of pot in ml or oz: ~100 ml filled to the brim.
- Clay type (zhu ni, hong ni, zi ni, duan ni, ...): Hong ni, with some blue clay (at least it looks like clay) applied on top.
- Firing temperature: Low/Med/High fired?: Can't tell. Very bright sound, but that might be due to thin walls.
- If the pot is thin-walled, medium, or thick-walled: Thin walled, very much so.
- How long is the pour?: ~6 seconds.
- What year/decade the pot was made? It looks old, but it is hard to tell.
- If known, the craftsman or factory: Probably some minor studio making these in larger amounts. The seal looks weird, maybe meant to imitate qing dinasty pots?
- What type of tea you make with it? Don't know yet. The shape of the teapot is irregular, so It might be not optimal for tea.

[Bok]

2019 is starting well... a long time wish of mine, which I did not think attainable has come true: a ROC Biandeng (one of my favourite shapes) and on top of all it is Zhuni clay!

Lid is a bit banged up, but I’ll probably Kintsugi it. Also the whole pot is warped from the firing, funnily the slanted spout is perfect for left handed me.

Two off the checklist in one go

[steanze]

2019 is starting well... a long time wish of mine, which I did not think attainable has come true: a ROC Biandeng (one of my favourite shapes) and on top of all it is Zhuni clay!

Lid is a bit banged up, but I’ll probably Kintsugi it. Also the whole pot is warped from the firing, funnily the slanted spout is perfect for left handed me.

Two off the checklist in one go

Great! You can definitely kintsugi it, there are only a few chips around the lid, nothing major.

[Stephen]

Recent acquisition. About 200ml, single hole. One of my favorite shapes. Hard to get good pics on this rainy day! Thoughts on origin, era and clay type?

[steanze]

Recent acquisition. About 200ml, single hole. One of my favorite shapes. Hard to get good pics on this rainy day! Thoughts on origin, era and clay type?

Nice it's a zini teapot, imo a modern replica (2000s) of a late 70s-80s factory 1 teapot.

[Stephen]

Nice it's a zini teapot, imo a modern replica (2000s) of a late 70s-80s factory 1 teapot.

Thanks! I didn't realize it was a replica of a factory 1. Would this be considered qing shui ni clay? The clay is course, but also dense (heavy.)

[steanze]

Thanks! I didn't realize it was a replica of a factory 1. Would this be considered qing shui ni clay? The clay is course, but also dense (heavy.)

Yes, it doesn't matter as long as it makes good tea and you were not told it is F1
I would just call this clay "zini". Qingshuini is a subtype of zini. This pot does not look like qingshuini, although it can be tricky to tell with pictures. It seems a bit dark and the texture is a bit more uniform than I would expect in qingshuini.

Whether a pot is qingshuini or some other kind of zini does not really have much impact on the performance for tea and on the value of the pot. Once you know that a pot is zini what matters most is the quality of the clay, grain size, and firing temperature. Clays with a same name can range from pretty bad quality to great. The discourse is different if we are referring to more specific clay batches. For example, the qingshuini used in the 1970s is a relatively uniform batch and it is pretty good clay. This does not mean that all clay labeled "qingshuini" is like that though. For modern pots the production volume is very large, so there is more variety in the clays used, there isn't a standard "2000s qingshuini" like there was a 70s F1 qingshuini.

[Stephen]

Yes, it doesn't matter as long as it makes good tea and you were not told it is F1
I would just call this clay "zini". Qingshuini is a subtype of zini. This pot does not look like qingshuini, although it can be tricky to tell with pictures. It seems a bit dark and the texture is a bit more uniform than I would expect in qingshuini.

I was guessing it was a replica or version of the "please drink oolong" commissioned teapots. But then I guess those commissioned teapots were all made by factory 1?

No claims were made about this pot. I just liked the clay and that I got it for next to nothing!

Thanks for the insight on the clay and I see what you mean about the color and texture.

[steanze]

I was guessing it was a replica or version of the "please drink oolong" commissioned teapots. But then I guess those commissioned teapots were all made by factory 1?

No claims were made about this pot. I just liked the clay and that I got it for next to nothing!

Thanks for the insight on the clay and I see what you mean about the color and texture.

You are welcome The "please drink" were made by F1 but there are countless replicas around Nice score.

[Bok]

Edit: sorry irrelevant post...

[Stephen]

I came across this 135ml teapot. Interesting cabbage shape, thin walls and nice pour with single hole. Looks like original box with note from original owner inside, "Green cabbage, collectors teapot, 5/1994, $37.90, yi xing." I have no experience with muo lu ni so would like comments on the clay and pot. Thanks!

[Bok]

I came across this 135ml teapot. Interesting cabbage shape, thin walls and nice pour with single hole. Looks like original box with note from original owner inside, "Green cabbage, collectors teapot, 5/1994, $37.90, yi xing." I have no experience with muo lu ni so would like comments on the clay and pot. Thanks!

Interesting, quirky design, they really do like their cabbage All in all with background story and little note, seems entirely possible that it is a real Yixing pot. Clay probably has some additives in it to achieve the colouring, this is definitely not a naturally occurring clay colour or blend.

I think I remember someone mentioning this kind of clay being good for high mountain oolong…

[Stephen]

Interesting, quirky design, they really do like their cabbage All in all with background story and little note, seems entirely possible that it is a real Yixing pot. Clay probably has some additives in it to achieve the colouring, this is definitely not a naturally occurring clay colour or blend.

I think I remember someone mentioning this kind of clay being good for high mountain oolong…

Yes, I believe mo lu ni uses cobalt oxide for color. I don't know mo lu ni clay that well, curious about the quality of the clay in this teapot.

The lid opening is really small which might make it more practical for rolled tea or small loose leaf tea.

Gotta love the cabbage

[Bok]

Late Qing, early ROC hongni pot. The more I see of these antique pots the more I realise how clean the factory era pots are! Those old pots all have a lot of iron dots and others. The workmanship is more crisp. Yet there is something to be said about the soft lines of the early factory period, if I compare it to my 60s pot. This one has some major chips on the inside lid and hairlines, but that is to be expected.

This one seems on the lower fired side, judging by the sound of it. Does not render it muting though. Haven’t used it much yet as it is a tad too large for my brewing habits at 150ml. Kind of an all round performer, no tea stood out in it as of yet. Old pots need a lot of tea before they show what they can do...

[Victoria]

@Bok nice find. The form is so elegant and clay looks really nice as well.