Hello!
I just bought my first yixing teapot. It's vintage and I don't know the exact age, so I was wondering how old teapots can get before it's not advisable to brew tea in them anymore? Are older teaware for example prone to cracking?
Mine is in perfect condition and both looks and feels like as good as new, so I hope it's fine to use it. But it would be interesting to hear what you all think.
Re: How old teapots are ok to use
Thermal shock can crack yixing which is why it’s always wise to pre warm it. Some people also believe you should soak 70’s and older pots for a couple weeks prior to first using it. https://www.google.com/amp/s/teaism99.c ... ening/amp/
Nothing wrong w/ using vintage and antique pots as long as your comfortable w/ the possibility of dropping it or cracking from thermal shock. Personally I wouldn’t worry too much unless it’s worth $500-1000+
Nothing wrong w/ using vintage and antique pots as long as your comfortable w/ the possibility of dropping it or cracking from thermal shock. Personally I wouldn’t worry too much unless it’s worth $500-1000+
Re: How old teapots are ok to use
How vintage is vintage? That aside a lot of people us every old teapots, even antique ones. Clean and boil with water and it should be safe to use.GuiHua wrote: Hello!
I just bought my first yixing teapot. It's vintage and I don't know the exact age, so I was wondering how old teapots can get before it's not advisable to brew tea in them anymore? Are older teaware for example prone to cracking?
Mine is in perfect condition and both looks and feels like as good as new, so I hope it's fine to use it. But it would be interesting to hear what you all think.
Re: How old teapots are ok to use
Mine is about 50 years old. It has been used previously, but not much since it lacks stains and patina.Bok wrote:How vintage is vintage? That aside a lot of people us every old teapots, even antique ones. Clean and boil with water and it should be safe to use.GuiHua wrote: Hello!
I just bought my first yixing teapot. It's vintage and I don't know the exact age, so I was wondering how old teapots can get before it's not advisable to brew tea in them anymore? Are older teaware for example prone to cracking?
Mine is in perfect condition and both looks and feels like as good as new, so I hope it's fine to use it. But it would be interesting to hear what you all think.
Thanks for both comments!
Re: How old teapots are ok to use
1970s is relatively young still(if it is real as that is already a period of relative rarity and lots of fakes), should be absolutely ok. Patina can also be cleaned off to be like new, so it is an unreliable factor.GuiHua wrote:Mine is about 50 years old. It has been used previously, but not much since it lacks stains and patina.Bok wrote:How vintage is vintage? That aside a lot of people us every old teapots, even antique ones. Clean and boil with water and it should be safe to use.GuiHua wrote: Hello!
I just bought my first yixing teapot. It's vintage and I don't know the exact age, so I was wondering how old teapots can get before it's not advisable to brew tea in them anymore? Are older teaware for example prone to cracking?
Mine is in perfect condition and both looks and feels like as good as new, so I hope it's fine to use it. But it would be interesting to hear what you all think.
Thanks for both comments!
Re: How old teapots are ok to use
A little late reply:TuoChaTea wrote: Where did you get the teapot?
From a vintage seller on etsy.com that specializes in selling old chinese items. They only had one (mine) yixing teapot for sale, and apparently it has previously been owned by a collector.
Looks like this:

Re: How old teapots are ok to use
Unlikely that this is from the 1970s. Decorated pots were only made later on. Looks more like 80-90s at the most.
Re: How old teapots are ok to use
Good to know! Thanks!FBee wrote:Unlikely that this is from the 1970s. Decorated pots were only made later on. Looks more like 80-90s at the most.
Re: How old teapots are ok to use
this is not vintage, and the characters on the pot are Simplified Chinese,
and the message is one Buddhist scripture
really no one with enough artistic demand will apply simplified Chinese on teapot,
even Mainland Chinese love to see ancient characters on it.
but cannot rule out it is from 1970s, the pot is well made i can give you that,
just someone don't like simplified Chinese on it, nevertheless it is a good pot
also need to see the inside of pot and lid, and the name chop for more detail
and the message is one Buddhist scripture
really no one with enough artistic demand will apply simplified Chinese on teapot,
even Mainland Chinese love to see ancient characters on it.
but cannot rule out it is from 1970s, the pot is well made i can give you that,
just someone don't like simplified Chinese on it, nevertheless it is a good pot
also need to see the inside of pot and lid, and the name chop for more detail
Re: How old teapots are ok to use
Thanks, very interesting thoughts.BenHK wrote: this is not vintage, and the characters on the pot are Simplified Chinese,
and the message is one Buddhist scripture
really no one with enough artistic demand will apply simplified Chinese on teapot,
even Mainland Chinese love to see ancient characters on it.
but cannot rule out it is from 1970s, the pot is well made i can give you that,
just someone don't like simplified Chinese on it, nevertheless it is a good pot
also need to see the inside of pot and lid, and the name chop for more detail
Maybe the artist thought that traditional characters where too difficult to read in small calligraphy or too time consuming to write.
Do you know the name of the buddhist scripture? Unfortunately my mandarin is still on a quite low level, so I have only been able to identify a few hanzi that don’t give me much clue about the content.
I’m adding a few more photos:






Re: How old teapots are ok to use
Multiple hole filter suggest, that the teapot is most likely quite new, 90's or later.
Re: How old teapots are ok to use
In this case yes, but not necessarily, you find all sorts of hole combinations even on Qing dynasty teapots, 1, 2, 4, 5-holes all did exist.