Yixing Aesthetics: Traditional Vs. Modern?

[steanze]

This is the typical "entry point price" for this kind of pot in any kind of quality. It is outside the more typical purchasing habits of most on TeaChat, for any kind of teawares as far as I can see.

best,

..................john

Yes, and also at that price one can start to find good, dragon-kiln fired pots from ROC or earlier, so it becomes a tough choice

[jayinhk]

I too would like to see some blind testing of the wilder pot shapes vs the tamer ones. Teapot shape does seem to make a big difference to brewing results, however, so there might be something to it. I am going by what I've read on MarshalN's blog.

Perhaps it would matter less for something like shu pu erh, although my two pin zini pots with different wall thicknesses alone produce vastly different results. Both are the same clay and were made at the same time, but one dulls storage aromas and the other brings them to the forefront.

Who's going to bite the bullet and buy some really fugly pots to experiment with?

[CWarren]

Edited

[jayinhk]

Bought four shuipings this week, so that's my teapot budget blown! what a pity!

[Bok]

what I’ve found in my (admittedly limited compared to others) experience in regards to shape is that especially pots which are not rounded on the inside do not perform well.

Square-ish, straightlined or with a flat bottom.
My guess is that tea laves or kind of “cornered” in places and can not open up like they would in round interiors.

[steanze]

That's interesting. I've had no problems with a square zini pot I use nor with a '60s flat bottom hongni shuiping.

[Bok]

That's interesting. I've had no problems with a square zini pot I use nor with a '60s flat bottom hongni shuiping.

I guess, as always, there are too many parameters to be sure of anything without scientific testing!


Like: clay type, age, firing, storage, water, method of water heating, tea type, mood of the day and expertise of the person making the tea, sense of taste of the drinking person, etc. …

[wyardley]

For me those bamboo and vegetal etc pots are the equivalent to the European porcelain with flowers and gold rim on them… just kitch and bad taste

I generally agree with you on this, but when you see one that's really well done, it might change your mind.

[Bok]

For me those bamboo and vegetal etc pots are the equivalent to the European porcelain with flowers and gold rim on them… just kitch and bad taste

I generally agree with you on this, but when you see one that's really well done, it might change your mind.

One of these beautiful exceptions is the one Teaism posted recently:
http://teaism99.com/2015/11/24/bamboo-2/

[jayinhk]

Wow, that is incredible craftsmanship!

[hopeofdawn]

It's really interesting to see all the varied responses to this question! I can definitely agree that there's a lot of crappy, mass-market yixing out there with decorations slapped on top. But I have to admit, my own preference seems to be towards rounded pots with delicately curved spouts--there's just something about them that seems full and happy to me.

That said, I've seen some chrysanthemum and peach-motif pots that seem to be reasonably well executed that I've been tempted by--no way to tell the clay quality from photos, of course--but it got me wondering about aesthetic appeal vs. utility.

And of course John's note about not finding good pots for under $500-600 also has me wondering if it's true that almost all of us here in the West are basically collecting substandard teapots. Where is the line in craftsmanship, that elevates teapots to such prices? Is it just the reputation of the artist? The quality of the clay?

[steanze]

One of these beautiful exceptions is the one Teaism posted recently:
http://teaism99.com/2015/11/24/bamboo-2/

Those go for around $3000 these days

[steanze]

And of course John's note about not finding good pots for under $500-600 also has me wondering if it's true that almost all of us here in the West are basically collecting substandard teapots. Where is the line in craftsmanship, that elevates teapots to such prices? Is it just the reputation of the artist? The quality of the clay?

The question is what is the standard if the standard is what people in China get on average, I think the pots in the West are not a lot worse than that, because a lot of Chinese buy and use cheap taobao pots - just like the ones that you can find on the ebay seller posted by tingjunkie. But if you consider "standard" the finely made artist pots, then yes in the West there are very few of those My impression is that the pots you see in the West, with a few exceptions (e.g. Tim of the mandarin tea room), are like the pots you see in China up to a mid-low level, after which there is a cut. To have a sense of the range: https://52tdx.taobao.com/
For instance these are not too bad
https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a1 ... 2256246035
https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a1 ... 9890440463

The difference in price is in part the quality of clay, but mostly the artisan's skills and reputation. Some pieces are basically sculptures and are evaluated for their artistic level and originality.

[heliospace]

I have a couple modern pots, made by Jiang Guoxing and by ex F1 worker Zhang Jing 张静. Yes, these artist pots also have straight spouts

The Jiang Guoxing pot has developed a beautiful glossy patina and really highlights the pots definitions, and is minimally decorated with bamboo motif. It is *egg shape and made of red clay in 2011. Much more beautiful now that it has a patina. Some of you have seen me share it on FaceBook.

The Zhang Jing pot has mostly sat, but is very lovely foo lion+chrysanthemum/lobed design which mimics a daoguang era chrysanthemum pot I once owned made with some pretty great clay. One of these days I'll begin using it when the right tea party happens!

[heliospace]

That's interesting. I've had no problems with a square zini pot I use nor with a '60s flat bottom hongni shuiping.

What do you brew in the square zini?