What can you tell me about my teapot?

[Zendruid]

I bought this supposed yixing teapot from Fun Alliance back in 2003-2004. I'm curious if it is an actual yixing, and what the Chinese characters and chop marks mean. I'm also curious about anything else you can tell me about it from looking at the pictures. It does have a bit of a metallic, high-pitched ring to it, although not nearly as long as the high quality yixing on the YouTube video. It does have a little bit of a thunk, but that could be from accumulated oils. I don't remember what it sounded like 10 years ago. Upon taking the lid off, the sound is sandy and metallic. The surface does feel a bit gritty and not perfectly smooth. It also retains heat exceptionally well and the handle stays cool. I use it for Tie Guan Yin.

Front of teapot in sunlight

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Tea stained writing close-up

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Inside of pot (camera flash)

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[Zendruid]

Tea stained picture close-up

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Chop mark bottom

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Chop mark inside lid

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[Zendruid]

And one more because I like the pretty glow it has in this pic, and the patina on the lid.

Back of teapot with lid in sunlight

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[futurebird]

I think it's a cute pot, handmade or half-handmade, that's not wheel work.-- no idea about the clay...if you fill it with hot water, then empty then smell it what do you smell?

[futurebird]

Also, is there a dimple on the inside where the handle meets the body? this is a sign of slipcasting. (I don't think it looks slip-cast, but its good to check)

[Teaism]

-- no idea about the clay.

The clay looks like the newly fabricated clay call Zhi Mah Duanni. Literal translation is sesame duanni due to its black speckle that looks like sesame. This type of clay emerged in 2000 onwards. Beside new Yixing pots, I have seen the clay being use in Taiwanese pot too.

[Zendruid]

futurebird: The scent is hard to pinpoint, but my best guess is that it smells like tea and earthy/ashy wet sand. As for "ashy", I used to be a smoker and it might have absorbed some of that smell, but I doubt it. It's kept in a brocade box when not in use, and it doesn't smell like cigarette. Nor does it impart any ash or cigarette-esque qualities to the tea.

There does seem to be an ever-so-slight dimple at the top and bottom handle joins... they cannot be seen and they can only be felt when running my fingertip back and forth around that area. I would call it barely a depression rather than a dimple. You really have to be searching for it to be able to feel a difference from the surrounding area.

Teaism: I googled "Zhi Mah Duanni" and saw a couple examples. It does seem similar, however the examples I saw had almost a creamy yellowish-beige color to them. It might be difficult to tell from the lighting and patina in my pictures, but my pot is green.

Curiouser and curiouser! Keep it coming, all! I'm fascinated to learn everything I can about my "pet" teapot. Don't worry about bursting any bubbles, because I'm happy with it. The aroma and taste of my TGY is fabulous (even without being a ridiculously high priced grade)!

ADDENDUM: Further history of my pot... A long time ago, like a dumb-bunny I left wet leaves inside it too long, and of course they molded. It was put away for a long time. A couple months ago I decided to try to clean it. All the old leaves and mold had dried completely, so I cleaned it out. I then proceeded to boil the hell out of it with just water for hours, then ran it through the microwave dry (with a cup of water next to it) to make sure any possible harmful beasties were dead. It seemed to do the trick, as I've seen no mold, and didn't even lose much of the previous seasoning. Just recently I got a new batch of TGY and seasoned it again with it for about 30-45 mins. So far, seemingly, so good!

[Teaism]

Teaism: I googled "Zhi Mah Duanni" and saw a couple examples. It does seem similar, however the examples I saw had almost a creamy yellowish-beige color to them. It might be difficult to tell from the lighting and patina in my pictures, but my pot is green.

Hmmm, the picture doesn't always tell a thousand words, isn't it.

If it is green, my guess would be Peng Shan Li Ni. It is a type of green clay, and based on the speckle of this type of green clay, it is likely to be Peng Shan Li Ni. A famoust tea pot artist, Hua Chien Min use a lot of this clay and he fire it at very high temp under oxidation or reduction kiln to get the "yua pien" or color transformation which is a signature to his style.

Well it is just my guess.

[Zendruid]

Teaism, are you just making up Chinese sounding words now? Just kidding, but I couldn't find that type of clay or that name on Google. Either you've got an amazing encyclopedic knowledge... or you're tugging on my lower extremities!

[Teaism]

Haha!

Actually Peng Shan Li Ni is my own initiative to spell it from pronounciation. I am not sure the real spelling or the mandarin word. I am sure we have someone here who can spell it correctly or give you the mandarin word. This is one of the standard Yixing clay.

Let's cast the lures out and wait.....

[Teaism]

Okie no catch...

Here is the Mandarin word for Pen Shan Li Ni

本山緑泥

Cheers!

[Zendruid]

According to Google Translate, that means "Benshan Luni", so I'll look into that. Teaism, can you translate the writing and chop marks on my teapot?

[wyardley]

Běnshān lǜní is often rendered as benshan lvni, because a lot of programs can't make the ü and the tone diacritic together, and because 'v' is the character you use to type ü when writing in pinyin. (Chinese has two 'u' vowels, one a ee-oo dipthong, and one a very closed oo). With certain initials, it's always ¨, but with others, you have to specify.

So you may see both.

[Zendruid]

I found this picture:

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The handle (not being stained as much) does resemble my pot quite a bit. Could it be that I'm sitting on a relatively rare treasure and didn't realize it?

I'm also thinking that a mold spot might have come back. I'm thinking of spot treating that small area with a strong drinking alcohol (like Everclear) to see if it removes it.

[Devoted135]

This thread has a couple helpful suggestions for getting rid of nasties in a pot. Maybe one of these methods could help?

http://www.teachat.com/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=18452