yi xing teapot

[antipodes]

I have purchased a hand made yi xing teapot which came with a certificate of authenticity but the makers seal or chop is not shown on the teapot. Is this omission something I should be concerned about?

According to the description of the teapot it was made by Cheng Jianming

[gingkoseto]

I guess it's normal. Usually one craftsman has more than one seal to use. There may be one favorite, but sometimes it depends on the shape and size of the teapot, a different seal may be used, as long as it's a seal bearing the same person's name. Besides, I don't think seal and certificate matter that much (because there are so many of them) and eventually it's the quality of the teapot that counts.

[antipodes]

I guess it's normal. Usually one craftsman has more than one seal to use. There may be one favorite, but sometimes it depends on the shape and size of the teapot, a different seal may be used, as long as it's a seal bearing the same person's name. Besides, I don't think seal and certificate matter that much (because there are so many of them) and eventually it's the quality of the teapot that counts.

Sorry about the late response Ginko but thanks for your advice.

It is hard for a newbie to judge quality. In my case I can not control the flow of tea from the teapot by blocking the hole in the teapot lid and the dragon head decoration falls out of the lid. The company cannot be bothered to respond to my complaint. I have wasted several hundred dollars on this teapot and shall not be doing business with theZisha Teapot Company(UK) again.

[beachape]

Once you see a quality handmade pot it is easy to pick out crappy ones. A 100 dollar pot should have a near perfect fitted lid good clay and good general appearance. Smooth lines even color etc

[Tead Off]

Once you see a quality handmade pot it is easy to pick out crappy ones. A 100 dollar pot should have a near perfect fitted lid good clay and good general appearance. Smooth lines even color etc

I agree with you about recognizing quality once you see it. But, for $100, you are not likely to find a near perfect pot with excellent clay. We would like a perfect pot for $100 and you can buy them new with some searching(can't speak for clay quality), but, the overwhelming number of yixing pots that cost $100, either old or new, will not be perfect. Even the old ones that I see have imperfections if they were not made by master craftsmen. But, it will be rare to buy a $100 pot made by a master, either old or new. But you can buy $100 pots that are not perfect which will make great tea. So much depends on the clay and the market place you are looking.

In 1979, K.S. Lo, the collector that the Tea museum in Hong Kong's collection is based on, went to Yixing and commented that the production quality was poor. They told him no one would buy them because the price would be too high to produce such pots. He was rich so he had his pots commissioned. But, whether they produced masterpieces or mass production quality, the clay they used at that time was good and for a tea drinker, this is very important. For a collector, the criteria changes a lot and $100 will generally not buy a pot that is near perfect.

[Maitre_Tea]

I believe he was only saying that $100 should have a near perfect lid fit, not just perfection overall. I don't think lid fit, especially on older pots, are going to be perfect. Unless you're choosing pots for craftsmanship/looks I don't see how a slightly loose lid fit will be bad for tea brewing, assuming that the lid fit isn't so loose that the pour will be super crappy.

[beachape]

Yes, I certainly did not mean a near perfect pot in general. Lid fit is something that easily differentiates crappy from good pots. The amount of time devoted to making a lid fit likely reflects the amount of care that went into the rest of the pot (of course there are exceptions). I also feel that at 100 dollars you should be getting a pot that has a good lid fit. 100 dollar should buy you a good pot all in all. Something that when you look at it and use it doesn't bother you with imperfections. Certainly not master made etc. but not an amateur pot.

Reason i say that is because beginners might spend 100 bucks on a pot, and it might have several flaws, poor lid fit etc. They might think this is normal because it is handmade, but they really should be expecting more. 100 bucks goes a longer way in china than it does here.

[Tead Off]

I believe he was only saying that $100 should have a near perfect lid fit, not just perfection overall. I don't think lid fit, especially on older pots, are going to be perfect. Unless you're choosing pots for craftsmanship/looks I don't see how a slightly loose lid fit will be bad for tea brewing, assuming that the lid fit isn't so loose that the pour will be super crappy.

Yes, loose fit is not going to make much difference for brewing. Yes, if it's just this element, I agree with the $100 statement. I was just taking the statement and going further with it. I find the pots I like are almost always more than $100 if we are talking real yixing using good clay. I also think that most buyers when they spend $100 on a pot in the beginning of their tea journey will also want something better in the future. Often pots bought early on will just sit in favor of newer purchases made with criteria that are often mentioned on boards and blogs like this one but the beginner doesn't take the advice or information to heart. If it's just money, I understand. For me, quality and $100 often don't match. It's just me.

[Pouvla]

weird, i got my duo dropball teapot at christmas ( the 99$ one) also made by Cheng Jianming and I must say it certainly lives up to my expectations about the lid fitting and feel for the clay (feels coarse to touch, like I expect good clay does) and the overall look and touch of the pot is 99.9% perfect (I've not yet found something I'd call a flaw, the 0.01 is there just inface I do.. )
Also I got his stamp in the bottom of the pot, inside the lid and on the bottom of the handle (2 last ones are mini-stamps ofcourse)

I guess they all cant be perfect but im surprised that they dont answer when u try to contact them, they have a pretty good reputation here on teachat, so I would've expected their customer service to be on par...perhaps its not, would be nice to hear how/if ur case develops

[antipodes]

Further to my post and subsequent posts I think I should clarify my comments about the pot. It is in fact one of the company's top of the range models "Fish of Lung" purchased prior to the recent price rise. I would describe the design as traditional novelty. I use the term novelty because the ornamentation of the teapot's lid, a dragon's head is movable as is its tongue.

When I examined the lid to try and establish why I could not stop the flow when I closed off the ventilation hole in the lid the dragons head fell out. Otherwise the finish of the pot is to all intents and purposes excellent. The only anomoly is the lid which falls out of the pot before reaching a 90 degree angle and the problem with the pour.

The system of certificates of authenticity causes me concern. My pot only has mini seals which are illegible and so there does not appear to be any identification which connects the pot with the certificate.

I hope this additional information clarifies matters for contributors to this post.

[beachape]

I'd be curious to see pics of this pot. I can't imagine a pot with removable heads and tongues ha. You need to hold the lid on all pots when pouring. Good lid fit means that the lid forms an air tight seal when the hole is plugged. Also that the lid is seated attractively and stably.

[antipodes]

I don't think the dragon's head was meant to be removable just movable.
I don't have the skills to post a photo but if you go to the following website and look up the top of the price range models the model I have is the smallest pot 330ml.
http://www.zishateapot.co.uk (at the moment this site is unavailable)

I should have elaborated more in my description of the teapot lid. The lid is designed in two sections so that access to the dragon's head from the underside of the lid is not possible because it is sealed off. The ventilation of the teapot runs from the lid holder, through the sealed compartment, to the pot but I am unable to ascertain if the upper compartment is air tight or not. I think not.

The company has the disconcerting habit of making their web site unavailable at random intervals.

[Serg]

Antipodes, it's a pity to hear you have problems with your teapot from zishatepot.co.uk. But I'm now in a worse situation. Two weeks ago I made a special order at their site and fully prepaid it. And now the site is down. They don't answer for my emails. I am getting nervous After all positive reviews here on teachat I couldn't even think it is possible. Probably I made a mistake when I chose this vendor.

[slurp]

looks like their site is back up. You might be ok.

I don't think they're out to trick anyone, probably just a problem with their hosting.

[Serg]

I have just written another letter to her. I'm waiting for reply now.