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Dec 4th, '13, 09:36
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Re: Official/Different Yixing Show Off Topic!

by Teaism » Dec 4th, '13, 09:36

wert wrote:
In short the direction the seal is facing does not mean anything at all, right? I just took a look, I think half of my pots faced one way and the other faced another.

I am still raw and have alot to learn....I have a question on age of the pots. From what I heard from other more experienced people, the teapot could be ID more or less to the decade by 1)the clay 2)how it was manufactured 3)the shape/style of the pot. How much of that is true?
Yes you are right with those pointers but it is just a ripple in the ocean. I know a few old and professional teapot dealers and they are constantly at disagreement with the facts of the pots they found. At their expert level they are still doubtful. These people are really knowledgable and can point out the fakes in auction houses and museum instantly and they still have doubt often.

Even for me after decades, I am still on the learning curve and paid my tuition fees for mistakes. In the end, I will only buy if I am very sure and familiar with the pots. I also hunt very often for pots in collectors home and some of them really accumulated heaps of rubbish pots. So, tread cautiously in this path.

If you ask me, I would say a better and sensible approach is to pay moderately for Japanese, Korean or new age pots like those done by Peter. In terms of value, artistic, artistic expression, functionality and definitely cost, they are wiser approach and so much better.

Yixing pots, unless you are sure and have access to historically abundance place like HK Taiwan Thailand Singapore and Malaysia, then your chance is better. But it is getting rarer in those places now. I hunt for them very actively and frequently in these countries, still the excitement always mix with fear.

So my friend, please go slow and tread cautiously. Start with a nice Gaiwan first.

Cheers!

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Dec 4th, '13, 11:01
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Re: Official/Different Yixing Show Off Topic!

by chrl42 » Dec 4th, '13, 11:01

Teaism...I agree.

With your experience and time...forgive me to ask a direct question..just wanted to know if I am talking to a right person..as I want to learn and study Yixings more.

What is the period of the pot attached below do you think? :)
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Re: Official/Different Yixing Show Off Topic!

by bagua7 » Dec 4th, '13, 16:48

Teaism wrote:Of course there are connossiers and masters of Zisha who are expert in producing purer types but realistically it is still a smaller range.
Yes like anything else in life...I don't want to know what sort of prices they command for their craft. Better not. :)
Teaism wrote: So, I would say the clay it is authentic zisha from 1979, pot produced in Yixing in Ching Shui Ni clay.
Thanks, sir. It has developed a very lovely patina.
Teaism wrote: It is really a big complicated world of Zhisha out there. :)
Cheers!
I am very aware of that. :)

Btw, what is your PayPal a/c? I am also interested in purchasing one of your 60s pots. :mrgreen:

Is that pot yours, chrl42? Very nice if it is.

Dec 4th, '13, 21:12
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Re: Official/Different Yixing Show Off Topic!

by wert » Dec 4th, '13, 21:12

Teaism wrote:
wert wrote:
In short the direction the seal is facing does not mean anything at all, right? I just took a look, I think half of my pots faced one way and the other faced another.

I am still raw and have alot to learn....I have a question on age of the pots. From what I heard from other more experienced people, the teapot could be ID more or less to the decade by 1)the clay 2)how it was manufactured 3)the shape/style of the pot. How much of that is true?
Yes you are right with those pointers but it is just a ripple in the ocean. I know a few old and professional teapot dealers and they are constantly at disagreement with the facts of the pots they found. At their expert level they are still doubtful. These people are really knowledgable and can point out the fakes in auction houses and museum instantly and they still have doubt often.

Even for me after decades, I am still on the learning curve and paid my tuition fees for mistakes. In the end, I will only buy if I am very sure and familiar with the pots. I also hunt very often for pots in collectors home and some of them really accumulated heaps of rubbish pots. So, tread cautiously in this path.

If you ask me, I would say a better and sensible approach is to pay moderately for Japanese, Korean or new age pots like those done by Peter. In terms of value, artistic, artistic expression, functionality and definitely cost, they are wiser approach and so much better.

Yixing pots, unless you are sure and have access to historically abundance place like HK Taiwan Thailand Singapore and Malaysia, then your chance is better. But it is getting rarer in those places now. I hunt for them very actively and frequently in these countries, still the excitement always mix with fear.

So my friend, please go slow and tread cautiously. Start with a nice Gaiwan first.

Cheers!
It is too late to save me from the devil. I bought most of my yixing back in the late 90s when I first exposed to gongfu tea. Back then, I wanted to make some good tea(still!) but I have little clue to what I am buying. I just buy what I like or rather what the shopkeeper sells. :) I don't have any concepts of what kind of clay or whatever. I was a student then so my budget was low too. I had some rules 1)I would only buy what I would use so practical shapes and sizes only. 2)I would buy pots that feel good to touch. 3)what I can afford.

I haven't bought any yixing till recently when I bought a couple off this forum. I am not desperate to buy more because I don't really want more than I can use but I do want to learn more and have a little confidence in the future if I see one I like.

Basically, I am trying to learn more about what I already had, but even that is not easy. I had asked various more experienced people but as you had said they often gave conflicting answers. :D I tried going to the shops for research and was a little surprised to see how expensive the prices are compared to back then. The shopkeepers are even less helpful, some has as much clue as me to what they are selling or maybe they are just "selling".
So, I went and borrow some books from the library. The books are helpful to a point but conflicting and questionable information at times too...In the end, I think the best way to learn is simply looking and exposed to more pots which means going out there and start buying and making plenty of mistakes.

Is there a way to learn without paying a good amount of tuition? I guess not..... I am actually quite contented with what I already had. They are low level commercial pots, almost zero in the artistic/beauty department, workmanship is bleh. A few of them have decent clay(again, I think!) and works well. I realised there is no fast, easy or painless way about it, the more I tried to learn, the less I feel I know.

What should I do (when I am already in the hole?) :D

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Dec 4th, '13, 21:40
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Re: Official/Different Yixing Show Off Topic!

by Tead Off » Dec 4th, '13, 21:40

Where do you live? If you live in a place where there are Yixing being sold, you can go and talk to the sellers and get to handle the pots. The seller may or may not know what they are talking about. Many just repeat what they have been told and it may not be factual information. Other than handle pots, you can read and try to understand something about clays, styles of pots, workmanship, and what others consider to be old. This is a difficult road, takes years. Meanwhile, enjoy your tea!

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Re: Official/Different Yixing Show Off Topic!

by Teaism » Dec 5th, '13, 10:10

chrl42 wrote:Teaism...I agree.

With your experience and time...forgive me to ask a direct question..just wanted to know if I am talking to a right person..as I want to learn and study Yixings more.

What is the period of the pot attached below do you think? :)

Hi chrl42,

I missed this post earlier.

Wow! This is a big question. Firstly, I am sorry to disappoint you that I am not the right person to learn teapot from. :D I am still on learning curve and we can share some informations from our experiences to learn from each other. To be so direct as to judge a person knowledge by one single picture, I think it is beyond the limit of any expectation. Also a few decades of looking around is not enough to be an expert in Yixing pots.

I don't think anyone can guess the pot that you post accurately just base on a blurry picture. Even when experts handle the real pot, there will be a lot of conflicting opinions on the authenticity of the pot. From one picture ...hmmmmm...it takes more than expert. Also, picture don't show the real thing due to the shortfall of digital photography presentation.
In assessing Yixing teapots, many expert look for clue and really need to handle the real pot, especially like this presently rarely seen pot.

So, I am not the right person and by stating this disclaimer, I will take a shot to do a wild guess without any prejudices....heehee

The picture is really blurry and not much clue and I can't tell the clay by the picture. So I will make 2 wild guesses:

First guess: . If the clay is correct, from the colour, it is probably a blended zhini, processed from Ching Shui Ni and blended with a small percentage of darker colour clay, common in 1969-1970s in CR period. This would be a standard production pot, not grandmaster pot, and the volume although with no reference of any scale in your picture, my wild guess is 500cc. The pot has been used and blessed with a nice patina,

Second guess : if I see the pot, I would be definately able to confirm it, if the clay is not as above, it probably a new fake reproduction pot. The patina, in this case, would be a light beewax coating.

It is really very hard to tell from picture frankly.

Hmmm, so you can flame me here or PM me with the real fact, if is really real facts, at least now I am sheilded by my earlier disclaimer. :lol:

Appreciate if you could relieve me from such burden in future, unless you send me the pot, and like I say, I am not the right one :)

Cheers!

P/s One question for you. Is the artist who make this pot name is Wu Yun Gen and the pot name is Mu Gua Hu (papaya shape pot? )

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Re: Official/Different Yixing Show Off Topic!

by bagua7 » Dec 5th, '13, 17:05

wert wrote:Is there a way to learn without paying a good amount of tuition? I guess not..... I am actually quite contented with what I already had. They are low level commercial pots, almost zero in the artistic/beauty department, workmanship is bleh. A few of them have decent clay(again, I think!) and works well. I realised there is no fast, easy or painless way about it, the more I tried to learn, the less I feel I know.
Yixing pottery is a highly complex and difficult topic; you are not alone. :lol:

If your pot brews as well as a porcelain vessel, use it for that particular tea; if it brews better tea, congrats you won the gold lotto. If it brews worse tea, either ditch the thing or test it with another tea. I had several of those who didn't like any of the teas I consume on a regular basis and got rid of them; luckily they were rubbish pots. Tuition cost? Not much really but I personally don't like to get rid of something I buy, especially Yixing pots...they are just adorable "little things." :oops:

Or do what my tea drinking buddy does: own a huge collection of pots so you are never sort of supplies. :mrgreen:

Enjoy the ride!

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Re: Official/Different Yixing Show Off Topic!

by chrl42 » Dec 5th, '13, 21:36

Teaism wrote:
chrl42 wrote:Teaism...I agree.

With your experience and time...forgive me to ask a direct question..just wanted to know if I am talking to a right person..as I want to learn and study Yixings more.

What is the period of the pot attached below do you think? :)

Hi chrl42,
It's just a common Mu Gua from the ROC, the shape and the carving are very popular and typical style of the ROC....

only the potter is not common (old Gu)

Cheers! :D

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Re: Official/Different Yixing Show Off Topic!

by kyarazen » Dec 23rd, '13, 04:23

chrl42 wrote:
Teaism wrote:
chrl42 wrote:Teaism...I agree.

With your experience and time...forgive me to ask a direct question..just wanted to know if I am talking to a right person..as I want to learn and study Yixings more.

What is the period of the pot attached below do you think? :)

Hi chrl42,
It's just a common Mu Gua from the ROC, the shape and the carving are very popular and typical style of the ROC....

only the potter is not common (old Gu)

Cheers! :D

which book is the picture from? might be a nice reference for me to read :)

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Re: Official/Different Yixing Show Off Topic!

by Drax » Jan 5th, '14, 16:07

Here's one of those silly things that crosses my mind occasionally. I thought some of you might enjoy it.
yi_xing2.png
Yi Xing.
yi_xing2.png (72.67 KiB) Viewed 1667 times

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Re: Official/Different Yixing Show Off Topic!

by kyarazen » Jan 6th, '14, 09:25

Poohblah wrote:
robot fingers wrote:Clay: Duan Ni
Size: Just under 100 ml
Age/Year: Modern- 2000's.
Walls: Thin.
Pour: Never considered timing the pour. Lid fits great, pour is lovely
no drips, cover hole and pour stops completely!
Source: TenRen in LA's Chinatown.
Tea Pairing: Aged oolongs
Info: It has a delicate build (thin walls) to it, but it's not a thrown piece (as it doesn't have the tell-tale rings inside). Definitely my favorite piece. When dry it has that hot rock smell to it. I know that typically a thicker wall is favored, but this is great for 1 or 2 people. I have several more and less expensive pieces, but this just hits all the right spots, both esthetically and practically...and it's so perfectly balanced.
I know TenRen has a tight relationship with the Lu Yu Tea Culture Institute in Taiwan and my guess is that this might have come from there although I don't see it on the Lu-Yu site archives.
If I'm reading it correctly, the chop says 留香茶藝 which means "lingering aroma; the art of tea." I'm not really sure what significance that has, but there you go. I would imagine that the font used in the chop is a dead giveaway that the pot is modern.

nice-looking pot nevertheless. I'm surprised the pour is so nice given the extra-short spout.
留香茶藝

留香 tea craft is a shop in singapore. been around for a couple of decades probably. taiwanese owner, commissions pots made in taiwan under his brand. been to his shop several times in the past

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Re: Official/Different Yixing Show Off Topic!

by kyarazen » Jan 6th, '14, 23:59

chrl42 wrote:Teaism...I agree.

With your experience and time...forgive me to ask a direct question..just wanted to know if I am talking to a right person..as I want to learn and study Yixings more.

What is the period of the pot attached below do you think? :)
chrl42, in your opinion, is this pot authentic? the carving on the other side of the pot looks pretty good though...

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Re: Official/Different Yixing Show Off Topic!

by Tead Off » Jan 7th, '14, 01:23

kyarazen wrote:
chrl42 wrote:Teaism...I agree.

With your experience and time...forgive me to ask a direct question..just wanted to know if I am talking to a right person..as I want to learn and study Yixings more.

What is the period of the pot attached below do you think? :)
chrl42, in your opinion, is this pot authentic? the carving on the other side of the pot looks pretty good though...
Which pot are you asking about? Is it the Mu Gua?

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Re: Official/Different Yixing Show Off Topic!

by kyarazen » Jan 7th, '14, 02:34

Tead Off wrote:
kyarazen wrote:
chrl42 wrote:Teaism...I agree.

With your experience and time...forgive me to ask a direct question..just wanted to know if I am talking to a right person..as I want to learn and study Yixings more.

What is the period of the pot attached below do you think? :)
chrl42, in your opinion, is this pot authentic? the carving on the other side of the pot looks pretty good though...
Which pot are you asking about? Is it the Mu Gua?
yes the moogua pot

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Re: Official/Different Yixing Show Off Topic!

by Tead Off » Jan 7th, '14, 04:29

Looks like a ROC made pot, IMO. Didn't chrl42 say it was ROC?

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