Since this is a thread on
different Yixing ware, I thought I'd post this tea bowl and lid I bought a few years ago in Dingshu.
There was a misfired but somewhat intriguing piece in a shop; when I expressed some interest in it, the owner brought out this set, also misfired but not as mis-shaped as the one I first saw.
As you can see, it's potted very thin and fired inside and out with a crinkled and crusty outside skin that's got some rusty highlights and a slight reflection, and has a greyish inside. At first glance, it doesn't really look like Yixing ware.
According to the owner, he travels to a neighboring province once or twice a year where there are still some wood-burning kilns in the countryside to fire his better wares. (There's still a wood-burning kiln near Yixing, he and others said, but it's not fired very often and there's high demand for it.) Unusual results aren't rare with wood-burning kilns, and the result in one firing was this set. He said the set was fully hand-built.
(Being a natural sceptic, I don't necessarily believe everything I'm told in Yixing or anywhere else, but this was the owner's story; buyers should be aware that it's becoming common in China these days for shops to claim that modern art pottery of all types has been wood-fired, whether it has been or not, yet modern wood-fired pottery is in fact very rare.)
While the set doesn't look bad when shown separately, the bowl and lid expanded/shrunk differently in the kiln, and they no longer match in size. Indeed, the set looks a little sad when the lid's put on, as it sinks well into the bowl. It should be sitting proudly up there on the rim. So it really belongs with the kiln waste, I suppose.
Nonetheless, I like the set; the texture's unusual, and it changes appearance depending on the light. Of course, the set also makes a good conversation piece. Not that I'd ever pour tea into it, though.
That's why I used the term "generally" and why there is no (and will never be) a definitive formula for pot/tea pairing. Sometimes a pot with no pedigree or earthly reason to be a good performer is just awesome with a certain tea. It's good to keep an open mind and try different teas so these happy surprises can be discovered.
I think I will be splitting this topic ... creating a seperate topic for this melon pot discussion ...