Antique/Vintage Tea and Tea Ware

[the_economist]

九谷 means kutani, so it prob is (if stamps can be believed). red isn't the only famous glaze from kutani so its not too unusual that there isn't red on there.

[IPT]

Well, they are definitely the same characters, but the fact that they are in blue is odd. I would contact Mr. Nilsson and ask him. His email is: qwerty@gotheborg.com

In China, if it is the wrong color, it can mean it is a fake, or it can mean that it comes from a very specific time period. Like I said, I do not pretend to be knowledgeable about Japanese antiques, so I do not know.

[MarshalN]

They're Kutani. There's plenty of non-red Kutani out there. These were sake cups in their prior life.

[IPT]

Thank you MarshalN. Good to know. Now I know a little more about Japanese tea ware.

[Chip]

I am always a little leary of old Kutani when the inside is painted ... not so much the exterior. I base this on nothing factual, just a gut feeling. They are sweet though ...

... yours too, Tom!

Not sure I have anything worthy to show in this topic ... IPT, how about a minimum age for this topic? There is antique and then the often default setting "vintage-ware."

[IPT]

I know you have at least a couple of items which would fit here Chip.

I figured this would be for antique and vintage ware. I hate to set a minimum date, but if I had to set a date, I guess I would say 1989, but it is not set in stone. Well done fakes would be useful too, to describe how to tell they are fakes, so they would work in this thread too.

[TIM]

Clay: Old Zisha / Zhuni mixed. high fired.
Size: 750 ml
Age/Year: ROC
Walls: Thick
Master: 储铭 master of 顾景舟 Gu Jingzhou
Calligraphy: 石山
Pour: Straight / No drips.
Source: Museum Collection
Tea Pairing: Aged Puerh



Info: Acquired 28 years ago, thru a museum curator. 龙溪山人 real name is 储铭. A famous master yixing potter from 1881－1937. This pot was made with aged zisha recipe from the master's master in 1920's. A classic example of "Jade" quality yixing:

http://themandarinstea.blogspot.com/200 ... xings.html

http://themandarinstea.blogspot.com/200 ... gs_24.html

Unfortunately, after 3 years of inquiry from a Beijing collector. I finally decided to let it go, since its very hard for me to use it these days. So, just want to share and document this rare Zisha mixed Zhuni large pot. One of my finer item in the collection.



http://blog.xuite.net/dante/teapot/26038346
http://www.chinaqikan.com/article/Article-782.html

[TokyoB]

Tim - Wow.

That is a real beauty.

[night.owl]

Tim - Wow.

That is a real beauty.

Yes, very nice!!!

[TIM]

Tim - Wow.

That is a real beauty.

Yes, very nice!!!

Thanks Guys. Love to share, but sad to depart

[tingjunkie]

Unfortunately, after 3 years of inquiry from a Beijing collector. I finally decided to let it go, since its very hard for me to use it these days.

Noooooooooooooooooooooo!!!

Well, I'm glad I got a chance to hold it once at least. I guess there is no moving forward without letting go of the past. I'm sure even greater treasures are in your future my friend. Onward and upward- as my Dad used to say.

[David R.]

That must be tough letting this one go... Hopefully it clears some space for new ones ! Thanks for sharing.

[IPT]

WOW! Beautiful pot! It really must have been hard to let it go, but sometimes you have to. Thank you for sharing!

[nada]

A beauty Tim. Really something special. As others said, it must have been hard to let it go, but these things are just in our care for a while. Let's hope its future owners are as worthy caretakers as you were.

[IPT]

I think this cup is incredibly ironic. It has an image of a farmer with a bottle of pesticide on his back spraying his/her fields. With concern about pesticides today, I think it is ironic that it was a sense of pride that a Chinese farmer was able to afford and use pesticides. Certainly not an image one would expect to find on a teacup. There is a very common saying here. The person who does not use pesticides is the person who cannot afford to buy it. This cup is from the 70's/80's and very symbolic of the imagery used at that time.