Tea Knowledge & Friendship
The pots I like aren't for sale that often from reputable sellers, and if they are they cost about $500 to $1000 which is too much for me. The cheaper pots are boring, and I often don't like the clay. And it's also fun to search for these pots. In the beginning I bought many bad pots but this has improved. I also don't think that I'll buy that many again, because I now have most of the pots I was trying to find. An undamaged squirrel pot would be nice though...
Yeah don't spend $700 for that. $55 seems a bit low so I'd have some doubts. That pot is made of a kind of clay called Hei Xing Tu, which has characteristic small black dots. They are most visible on the picture of the bottom of the pot: http://zishaartgallery.com/wp-content/u ... G_9244.jpg and on this picture of the lid: http://zishaartgallery.com/wp-content/u ... G_9243.jpg A first pass would be to make sure that the clay of your pot has those tiny black dots as well. They should be quite obvious looking in person. If it does have them, it is not a 100% guarantee that it's authentic. But if it doesn't have them, it is a 100% guarantee that it is a replica.Mark-S wrote: ↑Wed Apr 22, 2020 1:01 pmThe dragon pot for example... http://zishaartgallery.com/product/大龙团壶-za0097-作者：宋宝娟/
It would cost me about $700 to buy this teapot from Zisha Art Gallery. I paid about 55$ for it.
This pot was only sold once on eBay in a long time. Also for about $700-$900.Where did you get that information? I think in the 80s that pot was only made from Heixingtu.Mark-S wrote: ↑Wed Apr 22, 2020 1:38 pmsteanze
Now, you get what I mean.
No, it's not made of "black star" clay, but this does not mean that it's a fake. They used different clays for this pot. I have seen multiple pots from the same era with the same design and different clay. That's pretty normal.
They didn't make that shape in the 70s... did you see confirmed examples of that particular shape from the 80s not in heixing tu?Mark-S wrote: ↑Wed Apr 22, 2020 1:51 pmsteanze
I searched for this shape in the Facebook groups. There are many confirmed pots that were not made from Heixingtu. I guess in this case my pot has to be from the late 70s. Late 70s or early 80s can be easily mixed up. But to be sure I will post it in one of the groups later this year.
Is that the same shape? It will be 80s if it's that shape. There are green label versions of it, but not in the 70s as far as I know
Not enough time or not enough patience?Mark-S wrote: ↑Wed Apr 22, 2020 11:42 amsteanze
The problem is that I often don't have enough time to search for a pot before buying it. The price for the squirrel pot for example increased about $25 because I waited too long. Another customer outbid me shortly after my first offer. And I know that other collectors even from this forum are also quite active on eBay. But I am getting better in the evaluation of F1 pots I think, and for future purchases I'll follow Chadrinkincat's advice:
I don’t have enough knowledge or experience to be certain of the validity of either side which is why I think it is wise to pursue the pots w/ better craftsmanship and just avoid the ones w/ questionable details.
It's amazing how fast you are.
It's not the same pot I meant but it looks promising. I would have to compare it on a bigger screen to be sure. When I get my two books I am trying to study the details. Then I go with your strategy to look for a specific pot.It's dark enough that it could be Heixingtu, but the pictures aren't clear enough to see the black dots so it's hard to tell.
