Yixing classic shapes – past and present

[Bok]

Inspired by an off-the-rails discussion with @DailyTX, furthered in the main Yixing thread, I thought this could be fun.

Classic shapes, as in the five Biaozhun/Standard shapes: Xishi, Roubian, Bala/e, Biandeng, and Taijian. Sort of in ascending order of rarity and comparing them to their ancestors, or the designs they have been inspired by.

Probably worth also including Bianyuan and Shuiping as two more prominent shapes.

This will most likely not be a clear cut or definite affair, shapes are fluent in their tiny changes of proportions, so some may consider a pot this shape, some might disagree and call them something else. So take it as it is meant, a little exchange for the fun of it, not a doctrine or something set in stone. Add details or your own view where you see the need.

I will kick this off with what I have/had at my disposal to illustrate, others feel free to chime in and add your pots where fit.

[Bok]

XISHI

Starting with the most ubiquitous of the five, the Xishi. Many love it, many hate it, but there is no way of avoiding it as it is one of the most frequently seen shapes until this day.

I got a Zini version of it from the late Qing period, which has a little curve in the spout, but is otherwise essentially a Xishi. Compared to a 70s Neiwailinjiang in about the same volume of 70ml.

[Bok]

ROUBIAN

Another popular shape and often seen. I always found the vintage ones a bit clumsy, at least the 70s ones, see pic, I had, but only recently it came to me that this little Zhuni is essentially the refined older version of it. This is a funny shape in my view that only looks good in small sizes, the larger ones become a bit bland.

[Bok]

BALA

Delicious fruit in Taiwan, the Bala and a popular style of Yixing pot. I did never own any vintage version of it, but I am sure someone can help out.

The older version of it you see here is not a clear cut case, but you can still sort of see the kinship. This one is heavily warped from firing.

[Bok]

BIANDENG

My personal favourite shape of all, so I naturally have a lot of them in all ages, proportions, styles and sizes, but for simplicity’s sake I post the more similar ones to the later Factory Biandengs.

LQER Zhuni with rim and without, 50s and 60s F1 Hongni.

[Bok]

I do not own a Taijian, old or new, I leave that to someone who does...
Now stepping out of the five and to the Bianyuan

BIANYUAN

Excruciatingly expensive in the 60s F1 Hongni version, it is a very beautiful shape as I could convince myself in person, but alas own it I do not... I have this little Zhuni fella from the ROC period though and it kind of beats it and costing me about the same.

[Bok]

SHUIPING

Of course... as classic as classic goes for Yixing, probably the most seen Yixing shape of all, at least that is my subjective impression. Same as the Biandeng it comes in a huge variety of subtley or massively different versions in terms of proportions and details. Just a few below that crossed my path...

60s and the others are LQER, Hongni and Zini. Many others will be able to add into this category I am sure.

[.m.]

@Bok Awesome collection you have. Thanks for sharing - it's always exciting to be able see nice old pots.
What does the F1 version of Binyuan looks like? EDIT: I found it: https://www.teachat.com/viewtopic.php?f ... 30#p275607

[DailyTX]

@Bok
Good idea and very good info people who begin their Yixing journey will benefit from knowing the traditional shapes so they could avoid tourist pots

Those traditional shapes may look simple but it’s hard to master in the fully handmade context. I remember a few years back then, YouTube had a lot of zisha/Yixing artists talking about the traditional shapes as the foundation of their individual style, it’s quite fascinating.

For those who could read Chinese or comprehend Mandarin, this guy talks about traditional shape and history. He has an old YouTube channel

https://chenpot.com/zisha/xing

[Youzi]

What does traditional mean in this context? Oldest? Most common during the history of Zisha? Most common shapes during F1?

[Bok]

@Youzi hard to say as the video doesn’t show any pictures. The ones I posted above are certainly not the oldest or most traditional in terms of Yixing as a whole. Lixing and Siting shapes and some others were certainly more common in the early periods.

[DailyTX]

What does traditional mean in this context? Oldest? Most common during the history of Zisha? Most common shapes during F1?

That’s a very good point @Youzi, maybe traditional is not a good word as it lacks of defined time. What I was referring to is 經典 (maybe classic fits better) style in the last century yet it’s debatable which shapes fit into this category.

Here is 64 classic shapes based on this article:
https://m.sohu.com/n/433764355/

[DailyTX]

Maybe adding the 曼生十八式/man sheng 18 shapes
Here’s an article with pictures:
https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/66111195

[Benjamin]

芭樂 / Bale

Two F1 pots - later green label on the left, 70s (pre-green label) on the right.

The differences are pretty clear here, notably the thickness on the rim of the lids and an overall "puffiness" in the green label which is absent in the earlier pot.

[Bok]

The differences are pretty clear here, notably the thickness on the rim of the lids and an overall "puffiness" in the green label which is absent in the earlier pot.

Nice one and a good educational side by side!