Tea Knowledge & Friendship
Just bare in mind, that as famous as he is as potter, he was not a scientist, nor did they have the equipment/will to test for how much percentage is food-safe back in those days...
(https://www.teachat.com/viewtopic.php?t=20125)Ben Shan Lv Ni - it's a clay known to be rarer than Zhuni, historically BSLN clay very rarely was used, during antique periods white-ish clay used was mostly Baini not Benshan, famous ROC clay was Duanni.
It started to use only widely with Factory-1, with opening of no.4 mine, but Benshan and Zhuni are very picky clays for firing, not suitable for mass-production, so finished products of Benshan often had 'blacking - Tuhei' from pots produced during 7~80s and Factory-1 didn't have Zhuni.
Duanni has a wider range of color tone depended on composition. Think of duanni is nature’s mixed clay. Lv ni from what I learned, it has a pale beige color tone, it has colorful particles in the clay. Modern Lv Ni is different from F1, also different from ROC, etcMark-S wrote: ↑Tue Mar 10, 2020 2:24 pm(https://www.teachat.com/viewtopic.php?t=20125)Ben Shan Lv Ni - it's a clay known to be rarer than Zhuni, historically BSLN clay very rarely was used, during antique periods white-ish clay used was mostly Baini not Benshan, famous ROC clay was Duanni.
It started to use only widely with Factory-1, with opening of no.4 mine, but Benshan and Zhuni are very picky clays for firing, not suitable for mass-production, so finished products of Benshan often had 'blacking - Tuhei' from pots produced during 7~80s and Factory-1 didn't have Zhuni.
Do you know what "blacking - Tuhei" means? How to distinguish Ben Shan Lv Ni from Duanni? I am asking mostly for F1 pots.
And is black star clay still available today? I like this clay very much.
It's difficult, impossible to tell Lüni from Duanni. However 90% of Benshan Lüni is Beige or Ivory or whites soft yellow, or that color range. Lüni has a smoother surface to the touch compared to Duanni, at the same mesh.Mark-S wrote: ↑Tue Mar 10, 2020 2:24 pm(https://www.teachat.com/viewtopic.php?t=20125)Ben Shan Lv Ni - it's a clay known to be rarer than Zhuni, historically BSLN clay very rarely was used, during antique periods white-ish clay used was mostly Baini not Benshan, famous ROC clay was Duanni.
It started to use only widely with Factory-1, with opening of no.4 mine, but Benshan and Zhuni are very picky clays for firing, not suitable for mass-production, so finished products of Benshan often had 'blacking - Tuhei' from pots produced during 7~80s and Factory-1 didn't have Zhuni.
Do you know what "blacking - Tuhei" means? How to distinguish Ben Shan Lv Ni from Duanni? I am asking mostly for F1 pots.
And is black star clay still available today? I like this clay very much.
@Mark-SMark-S wrote: ↑Tue Mar 10, 2020 3:31 pmDailyTX
Thanks for the hint to look for colorful particles.
Chadrinkincat has a "black star clay" teapot for sale on eBay, but it's too expensive for me right now. I bought too many pots last month.
Youzi
I have seen some teapots of this color in the past. What's the likelihood of a yellowish F1 teapot to be made from Lüni?
Is it possible to make a similar clay like this F1 "black star clay" today?
Thanks for the great explanation what Tuhei is! I think you cannot embed the pictures because of the DDoS protection from Cloudflare.
I see other, bigger problems with this pot, then to decide if it's Lüni or not.Mark-S wrote: ↑Tue Mar 10, 2020 3:31 pmYouzi
I have seen some teapots of this color in the past. What's the likelihood of a yellowish F1 teapot to be made from Lüni?
Is it possible to make a similar clay like this F1 "black star clay" today?
Thanks for the great explanation what Tuhei is! I think you cannot embed the pictures because of the DDoS protection from Cloudflare.
Is it that bad? I know that the craftsmanship is not good, but I just wanted a reference for Duanni.
The V and U related to this clay is not new. Lv in google translate says it mean green.Bok wrote: ↑Tue Mar 10, 2020 7:07 pmI have a Duanni from late Qing/Roc with Tuhei, which I had posted a while ago in here. It is rather common in antiques. It doesn’t bother me, but a lot of collectors are afraid their pot will have it. Spots tend to come and go a bit, it was more obvious in the beginning of usage with mine, now it’s less apparent.
And I wonder since when people start confusing V and U? Poor Dr Lu‘s Name has been mistreated like this for a while and now the clay as well... ?
Junk pots shouldn’t be used as a reference for clay type.Mark-S wrote: ↑Tue Mar 10, 2020 5:00 pmDailyTX
Yeah, that's right. He's got fair prices. Without the shipping/taxes I would have bought some teapots from him already. I am not searching for a particular shape. There are some styles I like more than others, but the clay is more important for me. "black star clay" and Duanni/Lüni are on my wishlist right now.
Youzi
This teapot cost me less than $10.
