My new fanggu from Zishateapot

[Serg]

Well at first I should say that my experience with Zishateapot vendor was not very smooth and my order was delayed (I posted my complaints a couple of weeks ago somethere on this forum). But fortunately my new teapot finally arrived.
It was a custom order -- fanggu shape, 100cc, modern zhu ni clay. So here it is

And

A closer look at the clay



And picture of the inside


We can see a lot of instrument marks and a stamp, also there is an obvious joint line in the back of the body (not shown on the photo). So I can assume it's totally hand made.
The teapot is very functional. The lid fit is exellent. There are no drips at all. I like this very much. It's definitely the best feature of the pot. Pour speed is not very fast but it's ok, approximately 12sec. The clay holds heat very well.
I started to use this pot with WuYi roasted oolongs. I think the result is good -- fine aroma and smooth flavor. Honestly speakng I don't know if it's because of the clay or because I can use higher leaf to water ratio with 100cc volume. (Remember, I am a novice in the world of tea )
And now it's time for a "Cons" section of the review.

It's obvious that the shape of the body is significantly asymmetric. The curve on the left is not of the same shape as the curve on the right. Well, it doesn't make the brew any worse. But visual aesthetics Considering a higher price of a custom order I would definitely prefer a more refined shape. Well, i will keep this pot anyway and will use it as much as possible
Now I ask the experienced teachatters to leave the comments on quality of the clay. Is it zhu ni, hong ni or some mix? What do you think? And please feel free to speak frankly! Your opinions will be helpful to everyone here.
I hope this review is useful. Please ask any questions!
P.s. Please, excuse me for my English.

[Chip]

"For how much" was this asymetrical zhu ni?

[beachape]

I wonder if that is a problem with "made to order" pots. If an artist made a full handmade pot that looked quite asymmetric I doubt the pot would command a similar price as one "made to order." Seems like a bit of a gamble. You get whatever comes out of the kiln even if there are mistakes. With regular production pots, the crappy ones would likely get thrown out or sold in a lower price bracket. Just speculation of course.

[dangert]

I wonder if that is a problem with "made to order" pots. If an artist made a full handmade pot that looked quite asymmetric I doubt the pot would command a similar price as one "made to order." Seems like a bit of a gamble. You get whatever comes out of the kiln even if there are mistakes. With regular production pots, the crappy ones would likely get thrown out or sold in a lower price bracket. Just speculation of course.

When I was asking a different vendor about made to order painted porcelain teaware he asked about exact number of items I wanted to order because of high failure rate in a kiln. Since high failure rate is also related to zhu ni, they probably are prepared and the price already includes a possibility of breakage or other problem. Full handmade pots can't be as perfect as ones that made with molds and slight irregularities are normal in my opinion.

[AdamMY]

Did you pay them through paypal?

I got a weird message from them, when I tried to place an order recently, they want me to send the money to a Different paypal account than the one the site places orders through. I found this out as I went to place an order and paypal said their account was not functional, so I contacted Zisha teapot through email on their site.

[Serg]

First, the price was 180$ (as it is in their price list).
As far as I understand, Yixing pots are treasured for perfection of lines and refined shape. So I think that custom orders should be made with great precision. If it's custom it should be perfect, right? And yes, if perfection commands higher price then set the price as needed. The customer will decide if he wants to pay. After all, custom orders with low price just act like a good advertisment. But I think an advertisment should be fair.

to AdamMY:
yes, i paid them through pay pal (she told me the account). But the whole story was just too long and complicated. The site stopped to work a few days after i have made a payment. Then she didn't reply to my e-mails. After a couple of weeks I began to worry. I even started a dispute at paypal (I really didn't want to do it, you know, but I just had to protect my investments). Then she sent me a letter with apologizes and told that she was ill. So, after quite a delay my order finally has been sent to me. So there you have it, the whole picture.

[Herb_Master]

My mind is not made up on this.

I think it would depend on whether I had ordered it because I REALLY wanted a HAND MADE pot, or whether the size I desired could not be half hand made.

If it was HAND MADE that I was after, I would be disappointed if it looked exactly like a half hand made version, I would appreciate one or 2 subtle but obvious signs that it was indeed HAND MADE.

If I just wanted to plug a gap in a range of sizes that they did not currently have a mold for then I would be disappointed if it looked far different from the half hand made sizes above and below it in the range you were building a collection of then it would be a great disappointment.

From what I can see of yours it looks pretty good, I am sure if you wanted to offer it here for 75% of the cost that one could get it from ZishaTeapot it would sell very quickly.

[IPT]

I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but on any half way decent hand-made pot, the seam should not be visible. The fact that the seam is visible means that it is not made by a very proficient artisan. I've seen many Zisha Teapots being made and the seams are never visible. If they are, the artisan usually smashes them or sells them at an extremely low rate. Also, it should never be asymetrical. I own two teashops here in Guilin and my cheapest hand-made pots don't have these problems and they sell for about $50USD each.

[Chip]

[beachape]

Would you mind putting up a picture of the seam?

While it might not be a pot to put in a museum, hopefully it works nicely and will grow on you. Based on your description of the pot I doubt that I would order from zishateapot. I don't get the impression that they're out to scam people (I imagine that there are much better ways to scam people than selling such a niche product halfway across the world). I think its great that you can get info about the type of clay, know the size, style and maker. However, I get the impression that they may be using apprentices for these pots. Just an impression as I am no expert.

It is hard to fully believe any sales pitch in china. At first it bothers you not knowing if you got a good deal, or if the product was represented accurately. However, you may eventually come to terms with it and learn to enjoy a product for what it is rather than what it is claimed to be.

[Tead Off]

I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but on any half way decent hand-made pot, the seam should not be visible. The fact that the seam is visible means that it is not made by a very proficient artisan. I've seen many Zisha Teapots being made and the seams are never visible. If they are, the artisan usually smashes them or sells them at an extremely low rate. Also, it should never be asymetrical. I own two teashops here in Guilin and my cheapest hand-made pots don't have these problems and they sell for about $50USD each.

This is not true, especially if we are talking about real zhuni. Because of the intense shrinkage of zhuni in the fire, there are often shrinage lines and join lines that become visible. You also have to factor in the proficiency of the artist as many many pots are not made by masters, especially at $150.

Often, on older pots from 50's-80's, the workmanship is not as refined as it is on many new pots today. The clay is processed differently, mixed differently, and, just don't look perfect. This should have no bearing on the quality of the clay and how a pot brews tea. Looks are deceiving, especially with yixing pots.

[beachape]

Totally missed that it was zhuni, but to me it doesn't look like other modern zhuni pots that I've seen. Doesn't look like it has any of the "shrinkage" wrinkles. However it looks a little too shiny to be zini. Maybe its just the photo.

[IPT]

I understand that Zhuni does shrink considerably when firing, I have actually dicussed this issue with several artisans in Yixing. I have quite a few Zhuni pots in my collection and most of them were purchased for less than was paid for this one and there are no visible seams and they are much more symetrical. The visible seam and obvious assymetricalness (is that a word?) of this pot means it should have been cheaper. I personally feel that the website should have either made another piece, or offered it for less than the $180.00 that it cost.

I totally agree that the functionality of the pot is what is important and I have some pretty funky looking old pots that I use a lot, but if you pay to have a hand-made piece made, I think it should be better than this one.

[Serg]

Thank you for all your comments! Here is the picture of the seam

And yes, I think price is too high for the quality. But well, it seems we all have to pay tuition fee sometimes Anyway, I will use the pot. It's quite nice as it is
about the clay... do you think it could be hong ni? or probably some mixed pin zi ni? The colour of the clay in real life is browner than on the photos (no so bright orange). It also has a bit less shine (but it is still more shiny than zini). The sound is high pitched and metallic, but it almost has no sustain -- just very short high pitched "din", not "din-n-n-n-n"

[Tead Off]

I understand that Zhuni does shrink considerably when firing, I have actually dicussed this issue with several artisans in Yixing. I have quite a few Zhuni pots in my collection and most of them were purchased for less than was paid for this one and there are no visible seams and they are much more symetrical. The visible seam and obvious assymetricalness (is that a word?) of this pot means it should have been cheaper. I personally feel that the website should have either made another piece, or offered it for less than the $180.00 that it cost.

I totally agree that the functionality of the pot is what is important and I have some pretty funky looking old pots that I use a lot, but if you pay to have a hand-made piece made, I think it should be better than this one.

No argument on the price. I fully agree. And, on asymmetricality. But
Modern zhuni will not usually show a seam. Different than older zhuni clay. But, many zhuni pots (I have a number) show join lines near the handle. Why does this one show it? I don't know. I actually like the look of the clay.