Official/Different Yixing Show Off Topic!

[TokyoB]

- Clay type: zhu ni?,High fired maybe (highish pitched ring)
- Size of pot: about 105 ml
- What year/decade: 80s/90s
- Fairly thick-walled and heavy for the size
- Never used (just acquired) but

This pot seems to have good clay but has some unusual characteristics - look at the 2 chops in the lid - I believe one is an image of a rabbit and the two character chop I believe says "小兔" (xiao tu - little rabbit). In addition there is an image of a dragon on the inside bottom with an inscription related to luck (don't know exactly what it says). I also haven't seen a bottom exterior inscription like this. Any thoughts on origin/age/clay type? I believe there are some signs of slight shrinkage on the interior although the photo is not the best. Also, does anyone know for certain when these golf ball style filters started to be used?
Thanks.

[tingjunkie]

- Clay type: zhu ni?,High fired
- Size of pot: about 115 ml
- What year/decade: 80s/90s
- Fairly thick-walled and heavy for the size
- Never used

How come you haven't used it TokyoB? Did you just get it?

[TIM]

- Clay type: zhu ni?,High fired
- Size of pot: about 115 ml
- What year/decade: 80s/90s
- Fairly thick-walled and heavy for the size
- Never used

How come you haven't used it TokyoB? Did you just get it?

My guess is a modern Taiwanese Zhuni from the late 90s?
http://www.zsgy.com/Teapot/ProContent.aspx?id=407#

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_rNl5VRNLz_s/S ... G_5733.JPG

Looks great. Let us know hows the brewing.

[IPT]

- Clay type: zhu ni?,High fired
- Size of pot: about 115 ml
- What year/decade: 80s/90s
- Fairly thick-walled and heavy for the size
- Never used

This pot seems to have good clay but has some unusual characteristics - look at the 2 chops in the lid - I believe one is an image of a rabbit and the two character chop I believe says "小兔" (xiao tu - little rabbit). In addition there is an image of a dragon on the inside bottom with an inscription related to luck (don't know exactly what it says). I also haven't seen a bottom exterior inscription like this. Any thoughts on origin/age/clay type? I believe there are some signs of slight shrinkage on the interior although the photo is not the best. Also, does anyone know for certain when these golf ball style filters started to be used?
Thanks.

The golfball style filters started to be used in the 1970's, although i do not believe your pot dates from that period.

The interior characters are Fu Ji which is a marking from the workshop. Those characters are commonly used by shops and workshops. They literally translate into English as "luck" and "remember", but they don't really make sense in Chinese.

The stamp on the bottom means: China Yixing Ming Qing (dynasty) Zhuni Chen Family Workshop.

I would agree with Tim and say this dates from the '90's. That style of teapot with the interior image was quite popular then. I wouldn't necessarily say it was from Taiwan because those were sold all over mainland China as well, usually at tourist locations.

I hope this helps.

[Maitre_Tea]

A bit off-topic, but I just saw that you're from Guilin IPT...it's one of my favorite places that I visited in China.

Tim, is it possible to order from that site you linked to, or must it be done through a proxy?

*This might be a stretch, but maybe it was commissioned/made in 1999, the Year of the Rabbit

[TokyoB]

- Clay type: zhu ni?,High fired
- Size of pot: about 115 ml
- What year/decade: 80s/90s
- Fairly thick-walled and heavy for the size
- Never used

This pot seems to have good clay but has some unusual characteristics - look at the 2 chops in the lid - I believe one is an image of a rabbit and the two character chop I believe says "小兔" (xiao tu - little rabbit). In addition there is an image of a dragon on the inside bottom with an inscription related to luck (don't know exactly what it says). I also haven't seen a bottom exterior inscription like this. Any thoughts on origin/age/clay type? I believe there are some signs of slight shrinkage on the interior although the photo is not the best. Also, does anyone know for certain when these golf ball style filters started to be used?
Thanks.

The golfball style filters started to be used in the 1970's, although i do not believe your pot dates from that period.

The interior characters are Fu Ji which is a marking from the workshop. Those characters are commonly used by shops and workshops. They literally translate into English as "luck" and "remember", but they don't really make sense in Chinese.

The stamp on the bottom means: China Yixing Ming Qing (dynasty) Zhuni Chen Family Workshop.

I would agree with Tim and say this dates from the '90's. That style of teapot with the interior image was quite popular then. I wouldn't necessarily say it was from Taiwan because those were sold all over mainland China as well, usually at tourist locations.

I hope this helps.

IPT - Thanks. This is very helpful. What do you make of the rabbit chop? My first guess was also that it was from a rabbit year (1987 and 1999 were rabbit years). When I could read the name chop (little rabbit) I wasn't so sure. It all seems a little too cute though. The rabbit combined with the interior does make this seem like a tourist item. What type of clay might you guess it is? I see that it says zhuni assume that doesn't mean much in terms of accuracy. Also why would someone put "Ming Qing" on a teapot? Just to sound impressive to tourists?

tingjunkie - I did just acquire the teapot.

TIM - will try it out soon. What type of tea do you suggest? I drink mostly Taiwan gaoshan cha, Taiwan high roasted TGY, and Wuyi yancha. Anyone else on tea recommendations?

Maitre_Tea - my guess too on the rabbit year

[TokyoB]

Another newly acquired teapot. However this one was used to brew Taiwan high mountain tea.
- Clay type: not sure - duanni?
- Size of pot: about 155 ml
- What year/decade: 80s?
- Medium to thick walled
- Used for gaoshan cha by previous owner but open to suggestions. I was thinking of using it for Wuyi yancha although puerh was also suggested (although I drink a lot of yancha but very little puerh). Thoughts?
Also any ideas on age/origin?
Thanks!

[IPT]

I've done some research and there is a woman who uses the name XiaoTu (Little Rabbit), so it does not indicate a year, but the person's artistic name.

It is hard to tell what type of clay it is from the photo, although I would venture a guess and say it is not Zuni because the woman who makes them tends to make less expensive teapots. I'm not saying it is not a good teapot. Her works tend to be in the lower middle range of teapots. So I would say use it and enjoy it. I'm sure it will age nicely.

I personally would use that shape to brew Puer.
To put Ming Qing on a teapot, or any work of art is meant to mean that the piece is classic and timeless. It is a classic shape. You don't see it as much today, but in the 1980's and especially the 1990's it was fairly common.

I personally like the shape of the teapot and the dragon on the inside is cool.

[IPT]

Another newly acquired teapot. However this one was used to brew Taiwan high mountain tea.
- Clay type: not sure - duanni?
- Size of pot: about 155 ml
- What year/decade: 80s?
- Medium to thick walled
- Used for gaoshan cha by previous owner but open to suggestions. I was thinking of using it for Wuyi yancha although puerh was also suggested (although I drink a lot of yancha but very little puerh). Thoughts?
Also any ideas on age/origin?
Thanks!

I like this pot. It is a classic shape known as Jinlan in Chinese. It means Well head because it looks like the stone tops of wells where people would get water.

I would guess that it is from the 1980's because of the way that they carved their name on the bottom, and also the fact that it appears to have only a single large hole leading to the spout.

The carving on the bottom is in the traditional characters which means that it was made to be shipped to Taiwan because in the 80's, the mainland used simplified characters for the most part. Also, this workshop commonly used a seal to stamp their pieces instead of hand carving them. The hand carved ones were almost always intended for shipping to Taiwan.

It says: Bao Ze Xuan Xhi 宝泽轩制. Bao Ze Xuan is the name of the workshop and Zhi means that it was made at Bao Ze Xuan.

The pot looks like it wasn't used much. There is no staining from oils on the interior. Granted Gaoshan tea leaves very little staining, but it does leave some. If it had staining, I would say continue using it for Gaoshan, but it doesn't look like it, so I would say that this would be a fine pot to brew Wuyi Teas.

[Maitre_Tea]

Where the heck are you getting these pots from? I believe these have "fired" up my TAD (Teaware Acquisition Disorder)

[IPT]

TAD...

Is that the psychological name of the disorder I also suffer from?

[oldmanteapot]

Another newly acquired teapot. However this one was used to brew Taiwan high mountain tea.
- Clay type: not sure - duanni?
- Size of pot: about 155 ml
- What year/decade: 80s?
- Medium to thick walled
- Used for gaoshan cha by previous owner but open to suggestions. I was thinking of using it for Wuyi yancha although puerh was also suggested (although I drink a lot of yancha but very little puerh). Thoughts?
Also any ideas on age/origin?
Thanks!

I like this pot. It is a classic shape known as Jinlan in Chinese. It means Well head because it looks like the stone tops of wells where people would get water.

I would guess that it is from the 1980's because of the way that they carved their name on the bottom, and also the fact that it appears to have only a single large hole leading to the spout.

The carving on the bottom is in the traditional characters which means that it was made to be shipped to Taiwan because in the 80's, the mainland used simplified characters for the most part. Also, this workshop commonly used a seal to stamp their pieces instead of hand carving them. The hand carved ones were almost always intended for shipping to Taiwan.

It says: Bao Ze Xuan Xhi 宝泽轩制. Bao Ze Xuan is the name of the workshop and Zhi means that it was made at Bao Ze Xuan.

The pot looks like it wasn't used much. There is no staining from oils on the interior. Granted Gaoshan tea leaves very little staining, but it does leave some. If it had staining, I would say continue using it for Gaoshan, but it doesn't look like it, so I would say that this would be a fine pot to brew Wuyi Teas.

+1

IPT: Very well said. Couldn't do it any better!

Just to add on to your well detailed observation, the manner the letters are carved / engraved at the base of the teapot suggests that I might be made at a later date, prolly around the 90s, imitating the methods used in the 80s.

My observation here is based on the uneven patches of 'patina' on the surface of the teapots. They look like patina, but is in fact a layer of 'wax' used to make the teapot look shiny. This is commonly used in the mid to late 90s.

Well, again, as mentioned, as long as it brews good tea, use it and love it!

Cheers!

[IPT]

Do you think that's wax? I saw it too, but to me it looked like a fresh surface tea stain, although I could be wrong.

[oldmanteapot]

- Clay type: zhu ni?,High fired
- Size of pot: about 115 ml
- What year/decade: 80s/90s
- Fairly thick-walled and heavy for the size
- Never used

This pot seems to have good clay but has some unusual characteristics - look at the 2 chops in the lid - I believe one is an image of a rabbit and the two character chop I believe says "小兔" (xiao tu - little rabbit). In addition there is an image of a dragon on the inside bottom with an inscription related to luck (don't know exactly what it says). I also haven't seen a bottom exterior inscription like this. Any thoughts on origin/age/clay type? I believe there are some signs of slight shrinkage on the interior although the photo is not the best. Also, does anyone know for certain when these golf ball style filters started to be used?
Thanks.

The golfball style filters started to be used in the 1970's, although i do not believe your pot dates from that period.

The interior characters are Fu Ji which is a marking from the workshop. Those characters are commonly used by shops and workshops. They literally translate into English as "luck" and "remember", but they don't really make sense in Chinese.

The stamp on the bottom means: China Yixing Ming Qing (dynasty) Zhuni Chen Family Workshop.

I would agree with Tim and say this dates from the '90's. That style of teapot with the interior image was quite popular then. I wouldn't necessarily say it was from Taiwan because those were sold all over mainland China as well, usually at tourist locations.

I hope this helps.

+1

I would agree with IPT that it's hard to tell with a definite accuracy that this is not Zhuni, but I'd place my bet on the fact that it's not Zhuni but rather a finely sifted Hong Ni. Many of such teapots were sold to unsuspecting buyers as Zhuni pots.

Cheers!

[oldmanteapot]

Do you think that's wax? I saw it too, but to me it looked like a fresh surface tea stain, although I could be wrong.

Doesn't really look like a fresh surface tea stain to me. My main concern is the uneven pattern and patches of 'patina' that's on the surface. I've came across many of such teapots with a layer of 'wax' and they leave similar stains behind after you try to rub it with a wet cloth while the pot is still hot.

Cheers!