Yixing

[Bok]

New friends!

Bought these from a vendor who seems very sincere about his work, and has also regularly given me discounts and free teas when I visit, so I don't entirely mind if they aren't the Genuine Article. Though he seemed convinced they were.

Anyways, they're adorable. The red one in particular is gorgeous in person. The duanni is a bit stained from being preused, but look at the fun shape!

Genuine as in what? They are genuine teapots that is for sure.

The right one looks like an attempt of replicating an antique, but it’s modern. The one on the left I can’t see enough to guesstimate. But unless you paid a couple of hundreds it doesn’t really matter what they are…

[Kolleh]

Genuine as in what? They are genuine teapots that is for sure.

The right one looks like an attempt of replicating an antique, but it’s modern. The one on the left I can’t see enough to guesstimate. But unless you paid a couple of hundreds it doesn’t really matter what they are…

Ah, I did, actually. They were pricey. (Again, didn't really mind either way because I really do like the look of the pots themselves and the vendor, though someday I'll put the research in to try to find a place somewhere in Suzhou or at least China where I can start buying the kinds of pots that aren't halfway a scam, intentionally or not.)

Genuine as in "really zisha of some sort and likely to make my tea a bit tastier in practice," I suppose. The vendor claimed the one on the right was "from the Ming dynasty," which didn't seem terribly likely.

How can you tell it's modern, out of curiosity? Only if you're willing to put the time in to share, of course.

[Balthazar]

@steanze: Thanks for your input!

Below is an image of the pot together with a green label zini (left) and 90s DCQ (right), and each individual pot (same order). And here is an upclose comparing the texture of the three.

Unfortunately the artificial light makes them all look redder than they do in real life.

[Youzi]

Genuine as in what? They are genuine teapots that is for sure.

The right one looks like an attempt of replicating an antique, but it’s modern. The one on the left I can’t see enough to guesstimate. But unless you paid a couple of hundreds it doesn’t really matter what they are…

Ah, I did, actually. They were pricey. (Again, didn't really mind either way because I really do like the look of the pots themselves and the vendor, though someday I'll put the research in to try to find a place somewhere in Suzhou or at least China where I can start buying the kinds of pots that aren't halfway a scam, intentionally or not.)

Genuine as in "really zisha of some sort and likely to make my tea a bit tastier in practice," I suppose. The vendor claimed the one on the right was "from the Ming dynasty," which didn't seem terribly likely.

How can you tell it's modern, out of curiosity? Only if you're willing to put the time in to share, of course.

If you are around suzhou then you might as well could go to yixing （丁蜀镇）
Can recommend some stores / masters there.

[wave_code]

The vendor claimed the one on the right was "from the Ming dynasty," which didn't seem terribly likely.

How can you tell it's modern, out of curiosity? Only if you're willing to put the time in to share, of course.

I would stay far away from any vendor that can say they are selling you something from the Ming dynasty with a straight face Why would such a pot be priced in a way that you could buy it as an impulse purchase, or even be for sale at all rather than being in a museum or highly prized private collection?

As a starting point maybe just go through this thread's history - look at the clay, the shapes, when people have a general consensus they come from. Look at how pots from Qing/ROC period look like, Factory 1, so on.... some people here have a lot of collecting experience and are willing to share that knowledge, but as you can see a lot of us are still training our eyes and knowledge to be able to identify different clays from the 80s/70s/60s...

If you want to buy pots based on particular shapes, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that if you do, then I'd highly suggest sticking to modern pots from a decent studio like Yinchen. Then you can at least know your pot is being made with decent clay.

[Kolleh]

If you are around suzhou then you might as well could go to yixing （丁蜀镇）
Can recommend some stores / masters there.

That would be lovely if you can! Travel restrictions are what they are right now, so I won't be going anywhere anytime soon, but I'd much appreciate the list.

[Kolleh]

@wave_code I'm sorry if I've offended anyone by blundering in here without putting the research in properly first. Genuinely. I should have thought more before posting.

A modern pot would be fine with me, I think. I have enough of a palate that I've been able to tell the difference when someone's given me tea out of one of their favoured zisha pots vs. another one side by side, in an "Oh, that's good!!!" sort of way, but I don't think it's refined enough for me to really appreciate the difference the way someone who owns a really nice pot probably should. I just...like the way they look and the idea that the pot takes on more character the more you use it, really. (I may be putting my foot in my mouth again here, sorry.)

[Bok]

@Kolleh don’t worry it’s all good. : )

That pot’s clay is not right for the period and the workmanship is neither it’s a sum of details difficult to explain, but obvious when you see the real thing. It’s mimicking a late Qing/ROC period style. Ming dynasty is extremely rare and you’d have noticed it with the price tag. The shapes and clay will also look completely different to yours.

[wave_code]

@Kolleh no worries - perhaps my reply seemed a little terse, it wasn't meant that way. you are coming here asking questions wanting to learn and that is what places like this are for.

If you are fine with a modern pot I'd say that is now what you have- and if you like them and they are working well then you should be all set for the time being. As long as the clay looks decent and has no strange smells or tastes and it isn't making your tea worse then you should be fine. If you do decide to get other pots and want/like specific shapes- again take a look at reputable modern studios like Yinchen. They offer many different shapes and sizes, I believe they also take custom commissions too, and then you know that the clay being used is of good quality. Its not as though modern pots are inherently bad or worse or anything- just different and can be all over the spectrum quality wise.

If you do want to get in to older pots/clay over time being in China you are luckier than a lot of us here on the forum- many of us have to buy pots without getting to see or taste from them in person first and learn as we go purchase wise. I'm sure you can find some local people who can provide you with more first hand experience, like it sounds you have had a bit of already. If that is an option for you I can't imagine a better way to be able to learn.

[Bok]

@Kolleh not exactly the same style but related, here are some pictures of genuine antiques to maybe give you some better idea:

[Kolleh]

Kolleh not exactly the same style but related, here are some pictures of genuine antiques to maybe give you some better idea:

Oh, wow, those are neat! And predictably I also quite like them, although at least this time I know in advance they aren't buyable.

I can see what you mean, they just sort of look...different, in small ways, even without bringing the type of clay into it. When were these made?

[Bok]

@Kolleh thanks!

Period is somewhere in between Late Qing to early Republican period.

And that’s exactly what I meant, there is the overall sense of proportions that is although subtle, still noticeably different if observed closely.

[steanze]

steanze: Thanks for your input!

Below is an image of the pot together with a green label zini (left) and 90s DCQ (right), and each individual pot (same order). And here is an upclose comparing the texture of the three.

Unfortunately the artificial light makes them all look redder than they do in real life.

Thanks for the pictures! The color does look very different from the previous pics to these. It almost looks like hong qingshuini in these pics. I won't use color to evaluate (for that one would need a picture with natural light, or using a card to get the right white balance), the texture looks finer than usual 70s qingshuini, it looks like a different clay or at least processed in a different way...

[teanik]

Genuine as in what? They are genuine teapots that is for sure.

The right one looks like an attempt of replicating an antique, but it’s modern. The one on the left I can’t see enough to guesstimate. But unless you paid a couple of hundreds it doesn’t really matter what they are…

Ah, I did, actually. They were pricey. (Again, didn't really mind either way because I really do like the look of the pots themselves and the vendor, though someday I'll put the research in to try to find a place somewhere in Suzhou or at least China where I can start buying the kinds of pots that aren't halfway a scam, intentionally or not.)

Genuine as in "really zisha of some sort and likely to make my tea a bit tastier in practice," I suppose. The vendor claimed the one on the right was "from the Ming dynasty," which didn't seem terribly likely.

How can you tell it's modern, out of curiosity? Only if you're willing to put the time in to share, of course.

If you are around suzhou then you might as well could go to yixing （丁蜀镇）
Can recommend some stores / masters there.

@Kolleh I envy your opportunity to go to Yixing when conditions permit. My location hasn't allowed me the chance to buy Yixing in person as yet, so I've had to rely on learning from trial and error. And I've had my share of tuition pots. Reading TeaChat and now Tea Forum
has has helped me make informed choices based on the reputation of vendors mentioned by members. Someone's already mentioned Yinchen to you; I saw https://yannartgallery.com/ recommended on this site, and I've been happy with my pots from them. Has someone mentioned to you the tea ware for sale on this site at Tea Swap viewforum.php?f=28 ? There you'll find honest tea ware at honest prices from knowledgeable people who have already separated the wheat from the chaff for you.
Good luck when you go to Yixing. If it were me, I'd want to make decisions based on quality and not just "because I really do like the look of the pots themselves." To that end, I wouldn't be going anywhere without that list from@Youzi.

[Balthazar]

Thanks for the pictures! The color does look very different from the previous pics to these. It almost looks like hong qingshuini in these pics. I won't use color to evaluate (for that one would need a picture with natural light, or using a card to get the right white balance), the texture looks finer than usual 70s qingshuini, it looks like a different clay or at least processed in a different way...

Thanks again, steanze! Yes, the light in these pics made it come off as quite red.

I did take another photo, this time using a white object (in lieu of suitable cards) for spot setting the white balance in post-production. I think this is as close as I'm gonna get to capture its "real" color.

In any case, beyond words and classification I look forward to getting to know more about how it interact with the teas I brew. A couple sessions in and so far it's promising