Yixing Folks: Please identify this pot...

[tingjunkie]

What a coincidence, I got the teapot with mark of "Meng Chen" as well

What a prolific artisan he was!

Any idea what year/era your pot was made yangshuoren?

[TIM]

What a coincidence, I got the teapot with mark of "Meng Chen" as well

Interesting, Yangshuoren. That's a Sounthern Meng Chen. Here is a Northern one from the RC period:



To join the party.

[tingjunkie]

Southern? Northern? Wha?

Do you know more about this chop than you are letting on TIM? I am expecting a full analysis of my new pot from you and Michael when I bring it with me on Friday you know! ...assuming it gets here by then.

[chrl42]

What a coincidence, I got the teapot with mark of "Meng Chen" as well

What a prolific artisan he was!

Reportedly, from Qing to early-ROC Yixings, almost 1/4 had 'Meng Chen' seal. Looks like he had lots of followers..

Hui Meng Chen (late-Ming~early-Qing) is a mysterious guy, unlike masters of similar time (Shi Da Bin, Chen Ming Yuan, Chen Zhong Mei etc), he had none of pots truly certificated to be made by him, none of scripts of his birth or life, earliest script mentioning about him was just hundred years later after his birth.

Not sure when 'Jing Xi (meaning Yixing) Hui Meng Chen Zhi' was first used, his lifetime had none of this fashion but carving with a bamboo or metal knife..

[yangshuoren]

What a coincidence, I got the teapot with mark of "Meng Chen" as well

What a prolific artisan he was!

Any idea what year/era your pot was made yangshuoren?

I've been told it was 1970 made teapot. I'm not sure whether he was bluffing or not but I don't really care about it. Buying teapot is like love at the first sight for me.

TIM, cool teapot.

[TIM]

Reportedly, from Qing to early-ROC Yixings, almost 1/4 had 'Meng Chen' seal. Looks like he had lots of followers..

Hui Meng Chen (late-Ming~early-Qing) is a mysterious guy, unlike masters of similar time (Shi Da Bin, Chen Ming Yuan, Chen Zhong Mei etc), he had none of pots truly certificated to be made by him, none of scripts of his birth or life, earliest script mentioning about him was just hundred years later after his birth.

Not sure when 'Jing Xi (meaning Yixing) Hui Meng Chen Zhi' was first used, his lifetime had none of this fashion but carving with a bamboo or metal knife..

Great info Chrl42 : ) Most of the Early Meng Chen studio pots (late Qing) are craved signature at the bottom.

There is speculation that his/studio style made Chao Zhou tea pot famous. People will call early (later qing) zhuni pot as Meng Chen style. But are collectors really referring to Chao Zhou Zhuni Meng Chen or Yixing Zhuni? Perhaps Chrl42 could once again save the day for us?



imo, this subject should be a whole new post.... "Showing off your Meng Chen. Chao Zhou, Yixing or Mumyoi Yaki."

[chrl42]

Meng Chen Hu is patterns that ruled southern Zhuni pots..



Traits of Meng Chen Hu (that tends to be identified as original) is,
he only used 'carving' with metal/bamboo knife, loved 'mixing' clays (though most of em were Zhu Sha), small

later on, other Zhuni masters of early-Qing came following,
Lu Si Ting
Jun De (flat lid)
Hui Yi Gong (notice the lid)
Pan Shi Cheng (was Cantonese, not a potter)

Trait of Ming/early-Qing Zhuni, is there was never 'pure' Zhuni, all of em were mixed with other clays or added ball clays..

[chrl42]

There is speculation that his/studio style made Chao Zhou tea pot famous. People will call early (later qing) zhuni pot as Meng Chen style. But are collectors really referring to Chao Zhou Zhuni Meng Chen or Yixing Zhuni? Perhaps Chrl42 could once again save the day for us?

maybe Yixing Zhuni? not too sure..

I found Chou Zhou pots are rather often called as 'Shan Tou' or 'Shou La Pi (wheel-making) here..

Perhaps Chrl42 could once again save the day for us?

I need to save my penny to live a day

[tingjunkie]

Ok... lesson learned. I got the pot in the mail today, and let's just say it wasn't a diamond in the rough.

The good news is that it passes the sniff test. The ok news is that it is about 140ml- a slightly large, but decent size. The bad news is that the lid is quite loose and leaks like crazy, the pour is an impossibly long 18 seconds, and it sounds like a dead thud when you tap it. Oh, and those "silica dots" I saw in the photo must have been dust, because it's just a smooth green color.

As I said, lesson learned, but it was worth taking the gamble. Now, do I put it back on ebay and hope to get my $ back, or do I do something crazy and dedicate it to my beloved chocolate mint black tea?

[wyardley]

and it sounds like a dead thud when you tap it. Oh, and those "silica dots" I saw in the photo must have been dust, because it's just a smooth green color.

I don't think that all sorts of clay should have a high-pitched ringing sound when you tap it. I have plenty of great pots which have a dull sound, and that's generally the sound you'll get from most types of clay (other than zhuni / modern zhuni). The size and thickness of the pot also affect the way it sounds.

I'm not sure the metallic dots you sometimes see in pots are necessarily a sign of a good pot either.

re: the slow pour time... I think 18 seconds is dealable, but take a look and see if the hole in the button of the pot is large enough. Sometimes, slipcast pots have clay in there, and you have to (carefully) clean it out. Also check and make sure the spout isn't clogged.

[TIM]

Ok... lesson learned. I got the pot in the mail today, and let's just say it wasn't a diamond in the rough.

The good news is that it passes the sniff test. The ok news is that it is about 140ml- a slightly large, but decent size. The bad news is that the lid is quite loose and leaks like crazy, the pour is an impossibly long 18 seconds, and it sounds like a dead thud when you tap it. Oh, and those "silica dots" I saw in the photo must have been dust, because it's just a smooth green color.

As I said, lesson learned, but it was worth taking the gamble. Now, do I put it back on ebay and hope to get my $ back, or do I do something crazy and dedicate it to my beloved chocolate mint black tea?

guess my pm wasn't convincing enough.... well I'll be careful of using it too often.

[tingjunkie]

guess my pm wasn't convincing enough.... well I'll be careful of using it too often.

Never received the PM. Did I just drink from a pure lead pot!?! I actually only used it a couple times tonight as a faircup to see if it made any differences with some Baozhong. Crap! Please fill me in on what you had sent before. I do remember something in my inbox from you, but it said that you had already deleted the message, and therefore I couldn't access it.

[TIM]

guess my pm wasn't convincing enough.... well I'll be careful of using it too often.

Never received the PM. Did I just drink from a pure lead pot!?! I actually only used it a couple times tonight as a faircup to see if it made any differences with some Baozhong. Crap! Please fill me in on what you had sent before. I do remember something in my inbox from you, but it said that you had already deleted the message, and therefore I couldn't access it.

hmmm... i can't remember the whole, its a lengthy one.... Key words: Chemically treated? Inside shine a bit unnatural? Very Mass Market? Could get something much better for the same price?? Did you deep clean it before using?

[Maitre_Tea]

guess my pm wasn't convincing enough.... well I'll be careful of using it too often.

Never received the PM. Did I just drink from a pure lead pot!?! I actually only used it a couple times tonight as a faircup to see if it made any differences with some Baozhong. Crap! Please fill me in on what you had sent before. I do remember something in my inbox from you, but it said that you had already deleted the message, and therefore I couldn't access it.

Don't worry...I drank out of some really really really crappy slip-cast Yixing pots when I first got into tea, and I'm still alive...for now at least.

[tingjunkie]

guess my pm wasn't convincing enough.... well I'll be careful of using it too often.

Never received the PM. Did I just drink from a pure lead pot!?! I actually only used it a couple times tonight as a faircup to see if it made any differences with some Baozhong. Crap! Please fill me in on what you had sent before. I do remember something in my inbox from you, but it said that you had already deleted the message, and therefore I couldn't access it.

hmmm... i can't remember the whole, its a lengthy one.... Key words: Chemically treated? Inside shine a bit unnatural? Very Mass Market? Could get something much better for the same price?? Did you deep clean it before using?

Oh man... you sent that BEFORE I bought it too I bet! What a time for a PM to not go through! You hear that Chip... I'm suing TeaChat for $34 plus damages! I might be persuaded to settle out of court for some inside info on the next Hagi offer!