TeaChat

Lovely pear skin zhu ni. Year...hmmm 80s? Old stored zhu ni clay mixed with coarse sand to achieve that effect.

is such an effect only on the surface like a slip glaze?

Good start Adam, not sure about the grog thing... i dont know enough of that.
Bagua7, more hong ni than zhun ni but your year is closer.
Im not sure if there is a slip glaze to this, Futurebird. But there is no pear skin inside the pot

This is very educational for me, thanks for all the comments Chatters.

Here is another one:


Any idea?

Tim, I have no idea!

I figure as long as I'm sprinkling the board with pictures, I might as well out myself as the lucky new owner of a yixing that was recently put up for teaswap. My first yixing, and a huge thank you to Tingjunkie for "rescuing" it from Chinatown!


My first yixing by Devoted135, on Flickr

I'm planning to pair it with medium/high roasted oolongs, and the test run seemed to confirm that the pot agrees with me.

Untitled by Devoted135, on Flickr

Devoted135 wrote: I'm planning to pair it with medium/high roasted oolongs, and the test run seemed to confirm that the pot agrees with me.

Glad you are getting along with the new pot! I think roasted oolongs will pair quite nicely.

TIM wrote:

Nice lao duan ni clay. Possibly early 80s. Lovely pot not overdone like some other of those bamboo/tree trunk styles.

This piece I was given me from my father-in-law's collection. He worked for the Taiwanese government and traveled to China as part of the Lion's Club of Taiwanese businessmen. I am not sure where he picked this up at (He can no longer speak due to a stroke) but it has been in his collection a long time and has been deeply trained/used.

The chop on the bottom is elongated and not square and reads "a tu shi" (阿土師). I have yet to research the maker. It pours well (nice stream, (10 seconds), no drips, lid is tight with no catch points when rotated, medium thickness, likely high fired (nice "ting", clear sound), and is 210ml.

How big is it? It's hard to tell from the photos.

It has quite a bit of dirt/tea on it-- if I don't know from whom or how such a layer got there I tend to remove it-- at minimum it might be the wrong kind of tea.

I like the texture of the piece.

This is another teapot that I was given by my father-in-law. It has a beautiful tea staining throughout the crackle glaze.

It has no chop/marking that I can tell. The pot is thinner walled, likely low to medium fired (no crisp sound..but: "Antique teapots have a history (verifiable or not) and have been infused with tea oils over many years. They can produce a decided “thunk” rather than a clear ring because of the accumulation of oils in the clay but can still be of the finest quality. But remember, you are in the antique game now so buyer beware!" (TheChineseTeaShop.com)

It has no leaf filter (direct hole), 11 second pour, 210ml:

Wow, that one also looks very well used/loved!

futurebird wrote:How big is it? It's hard to tell from the photos.

It has quite a bit of dirt/tea on it-- if I don't know from whom or how such a layer got there I tend to remove it-- at minimum it might be the wrong kind of tea.

I like the texture of the piece.

Yes, me too...I enjoy the texture and the shape, as I have not seen another pot like it either online or while living in/traveling in Taiwan.

I am still growing my own knowledge but one thing about the 'patina'....I know, and have read, and was told this in Taiwan: be careful about removing a patina from any old Yixing or Yixing style pot as it can dramatically reduce the value of the pot for many Chinese collectors. You can find a number of articles detailing this, some in English, some in Mandarin. I had linked a few last night and lost the message when my login timed out.

My guqin teacher introduced me to a retired Taiwanese man whom is master collector of Chinese teaware. He showed us one of his Ming Dynasty pots and talked to me about the patina that was on the pot when he acquired the piece and how to authenticate genuine Ming teapots.

Ahh I see-- I guess it's a mater of if you want to collect or drink!

Me... I drink!



The small 90ml pot came a few weeks ago-- sampletea.com has sold out on this one... I love it.

The big pot is 220ml hubby and I are having tea together on a saturday morning.

I like both...and the tray they are upon. The wood has a wonderful, deep hue. So do you pour for him or he for you, or both?

Yes...with all of my teaware, save for one rarer Korean Celadon set (I already have two other sets that I can brew in that are similar; so I save one to be untouched), I use them too. In fact that is beauty of these two pots, also the beauty of the patina in both these pots; they have been well and deeply used. To wash that patina away is to erase those hours and hours my father-in-law spent in his office in Taiwan, among calligraphy and his immaculate table, drinking tea with friends.

Since I have my own collection of teaware, and have also very humbly and gratefully inherited his entire collection, I leave his beautiful old pots, save for a few, as they are. In fact my first Yixing pot ever was given to me from his collection as a gift when my wife brought me to Taiwan to meet her parents. Without stipulation he let me choose any pot from his collection.

Since he had his stroke and can no longer move and be as he used to, whenever I am in Taiwan each year, our practice is to sit and I pour gong fu tea for him. I take this as a great honor and sometimes even trip out a little bit at the path of my life that brought me to sit with an aging Chinese man sharing tea, while the sounds of the wind and the scooters outside join us through the window.

He can only use his left side; he can't talk so he just slurps, smiles, and gives me a thumbs up. I ask him each round what he thinks, too long, too short, not floral/dry/full enough etc. and I get a head nod or thumbs up or down.

So here, I prefer the inclusive form vs. the exclusive form of "or"....I collect and I drink. (PvQ)=(P&Q)

That's a very sweet and wonderful story, TeaArt08.

I agree, thanks for sharing with us Tea-Art08.