I have heard of this technique, and that reminded me of another zini pot I own. It’s from the same seller but not sure if it’s the same potter. Half fired duan ni was broken down and added to zini to create a more colorful texture. My initial speculation was thinking it might be di cao qing clay due to the yellow particles ; however, the duan ni particles seemed too much. The seller later confirmed it was added duan ni.m. wrote: ↑Sat Feb 29, 2020 8:26 pmIt looks to me that the clay on the SiTing is mixed with little broken bits of shards. It's a common pottery technique. It saves on clay, and perhaps add some structural stability too (the added material doesn't shrink). And if they are zhuni, it is still zhuni pot, i guess.Youzi wrote: ↑Sat Feb 29, 2020 5:39 pmDailyTX
That Si Ting looks really strange to me. The surface seems odd.. That's not how it should look like. During My research I read about "Toilet Paper" Zhuni, where they wrap the body of the pot with toilet paper to give it a shrink line texture. A common give away of this technique is that the surface of the handle and the spout is different from that of the body (they forgot to apply TP there)
The mesh size is definitely quite large (mesh number is small) Zhuni easily disintegrates into dust, so it's more difficult to make a coarse pot, usually it has to be mixed with other Zisha.
A technique I heard that is used to distinguish real zhuni from fake, is to add boiling water into the pot, and the pot should change to a darker, different color.
Yixing
It is from ChaWangShop, I have been using it to brew Oriental Beauty. I really like the shape and size.Chris wrote: ↑Sat Feb 29, 2020 9:54 pmDailyTX Is the pot on the left in your first pic from Chawang Shop? I think you may have mentioned it when I posted another one of their zhuni pots a few months ago.
I've been more curious about the clay recently. For the price, I assumed it can't really be zhuni (much less lao zhuni), but it does seem different than any of my hongni pots. I really like using it with aged sheng.
As for the price, what I learned is that the clay plays a very small factor into pricing. Most cost went to craftsmanship, and where you buy the pot such as directly from potter, tea merchant, 3rd party source, etc.
@DailyTX
Where did you get the Siting from?
And how does it perform so far? Have you noticed any difference compared to the others?
Where did you get the Siting from?
And how does it perform so far? Have you noticed any difference compared to the others?
@Youzi
The Si Ting hasn’t taste tea yet. For a long time, I was playing with zini pots and drinking pu erh tea. It was the last 2 years or so I looked more into other zisha aside from zini. I think when the weather in US gets warmer, I’ll do some comparison. So far, as I mentioned in the earlier post that I really like the ChaWangShop TieHuaXuan replica zhuni pot and has been pairing it with 20 yr aged Oriental Beauty.
In my opinion: Yes.
For example, they are selling 6 modern porcelain cups for $300. That's nowhere near the price I would be willing to pay.
To be fair, I do not know the prices for handmade Chinese porcelain, but this is very expensive in my opinion.In addition, they claim that their Yixing teapots "are made from genuine forty-year-old clay". There are more sellers who claim that they use old clay, but in my opinion this is all bs. I am no expert though. Maybe the others can tell you more about it. I would just buy a genuine F1 teapot for this money.
I find the prices at GTH in general quite good/reasonable. They often exaggerate a bit in their descriptions, but i really don't see them actually lying about stuff. And they know the potters personally. I don't see any reason to doubt them unless there's an evidence on the contrary. Factory 1 has mined a huge amount of zini, so i see it as quite possible that the potters got their hands sometime in the 90s on sizable amount that had lasted them until now. Essence of Tea used to sell pots from the same studio, at probably comparable prices (but it's hard to say because the price depend on the material and the potter). I haven't seen the pots in person, but from pictures look nice, and people who bought in past from EoT have been generally satisfied i think.Mark-S wrote: ↑Sun Mar 01, 2020 5:35 pmIn my opinion: Yes.
For example, they are selling 6 modern porcelain cups for $300. That's nowhere near the price I would be willing to pay.
In addition, they claim that their Yixing teapots "are made from genuine forty-year-old clay". There are more sellers who claim that they use old clay, but in my opinion this is all bs. I am no expert though. Maybe the others can tell you more about it. I would just buy a genuine F1 teapot for this money.
For comparison, the similar handpainted cups from the same artist, for about the same price:
https://www.pu-erh.sk/product-category/ ... chiao-lin/
https://www.pu-erh.sk/product-category/ ... chiao-lin/
@.m.
Yixing teapots made from "old clay" sell much better nowadays, and that's why they are calling it "old clay" imho.
It is hard to find reliable information on this topic, but I found this interesting blog post:
"Sorry to disappoint you, but no old clay is being stashed away in Factory No.1
The artisans we spoke to there had of course already told us that the clay they use is not from inside Factory No.1 but that they have their individual sources and storage."
https://teaandpottery.wordpress.com/201 ... tory-no-1/
Of course, it is still possible that they got their hands on some of the old clay, but I find it very unlikely.
You are right, from the pictures the teapots look nice, and it is very possible that you would be satisfied with your purchase. However, this does not mean that they used F1 clay for it. If it's good clay (old or new) the price is reasonable.
Regarding the porcelain cups, I do not know if that's a very well-known artist, but $220 for a small pitcher on pu-erh.sk is extremely expensive in my opinion. I bought a complete handmade porcelain set (12 pieces) on eBay recently for less than $100 (it costs about $350 new).
Yixing teapots made from "old clay" sell much better nowadays, and that's why they are calling it "old clay" imho.
It is hard to find reliable information on this topic, but I found this interesting blog post:
"Sorry to disappoint you, but no old clay is being stashed away in Factory No.1
The artisans we spoke to there had of course already told us that the clay they use is not from inside Factory No.1 but that they have their individual sources and storage."
https://teaandpottery.wordpress.com/201 ... tory-no-1/
Of course, it is still possible that they got their hands on some of the old clay, but I find it very unlikely.
You are right, from the pictures the teapots look nice, and it is very possible that you would be satisfied with your purchase. However, this does not mean that they used F1 clay for it. If it's good clay (old or new) the price is reasonable.
Regarding the porcelain cups, I do not know if that's a very well-known artist, but $220 for a small pitcher on pu-erh.sk is extremely expensive in my opinion. I bought a complete handmade porcelain set (12 pieces) on eBay recently for less than $100 (it costs about $350 new).
@Mark-S apart from that those pitchers are fugly, they are individually hand painted and not mass produced, there is a difference... you also pay for time spent and skill achieved over time.
You don’t pay the same for an oil painting and the reproduction, do you?
I think handmade still is worth something, if I’d pay for it depends on personal taste.
In addition, porcelain is not porcelain, there are lots of grades, which cost differently.
You don’t pay the same for an oil painting and the reproduction, do you?
I think handmade still is worth something, if I’d pay for it depends on personal taste.
In addition, porcelain is not porcelain, there are lots of grades, which cost differently.
Definitely. And I am in general completely skeptical to claims old stashes of clay, or of pots made of pure unadulterated zisha, but in this case i don't think it is implausible. In the end 40 year old clay doesn't necessarily mean that it was a top grade clay to begin with.
Personally, i have no interest of spending that money on such cups, but seems roughly in line of what that artist work sells for (of course puerh.sk tends to be on the pricier side of things, which is quite natural given that he operates his business from europe, has to import things, pay taxes and still make living).Mark-S wrote: ↑Sun Mar 01, 2020 7:04 pmRegarding the porcelain cups, I do not know if that's a very well-known artist, but $220 for a small pitcher on pu-erh.sk is extremely expensive in my opinion. I bought a complete handmade porcelain set (12 pieces) on eBay recently for less than $100 (it costs about $350 new).
@Bok
I do not think that the porcelain of this pitcher itself is of better quality, but you are right with the individually hand painted part (if the painting is different on every cup). On pu-erh.sk multiple cups have the same design, so I do not think that they are worth it.
@.m.
They could at least provide some evidence for this claim. And because they don't, I don't believe it.
If you have to pay $150 for a superduper rattan tray and $200 for a teapot, I think it's all right to question the teapot's quality. I have much more trust in EoT, because they also sell old teapots for very good prices.
I do not think that the porcelain of this pitcher itself is of better quality, but you are right with the individually hand painted part (if the painting is different on every cup). On pu-erh.sk multiple cups have the same design, so I do not think that they are worth it.
@.m.
They could at least provide some evidence for this claim. And because they don't, I don't believe it.
If you have to pay $150 for a superduper rattan tray and $200 for a teapot, I think it's all right to question the teapot's quality. I have much more trust in EoT, because they also sell old teapots for very good prices.