Identification of a Yixing teapot.

[William]

Hello to all TC members.
I received a few days ago, this teapot gift from a friend of mine.
This is my first yixing teapot ( if it is ), and in particular I would need your help in identifying the stamp that is under the teapot ( there are no marks under the lid ).
The only information I know of is the date of purchase ( summer of 1998, HK).
Therefore, the teapot has a rather smooth surface, both under and inside the teapot I can see indistinctly many circular circles, in particular inside the teapot, what do they mean?
I tried to block the hole in the lid with water inside and the liquid immediately stops.
I really have to say that is a pleasure to hold in my hands.
What do you think could be the type of clay used?
The filter would seem well done, with about 25/30 holes for a diameter of about 2 cm.
I thank all who can help me!
William.

[William]

Bottom.

[etorix]

pix of the interior and the filter would be nice

i have to say that the 'feel' in hand of a pot is .. the best-feeling pot ive got cost me 0.01 GBP [+ shipping] on ebay, but it just feels previously loved

[William]

Inside.

*Tomorrow will post new photos.

[bagua7]

Most likely to be a Taiwanese clay pot.

[William]

Most likely to be a Taiwanese clay pot.

What are the main characteristics that allow to identify a taiwanese clay rather than a yixing clay?

[SilentChaos]

Pic of the pot front-on with the sprout facing the camera, and a pic of the inside of the lid please.

[William]

I took these photos just now, after the classic wash to initialize the teapot (which I read here in the forum and many other sites) so I apologize if the teapot was not completely dry.
Therefore, contains exactly 100 ml, measured by three times not believing that it could contain an amount as accurate.
I ran the four tests regarding lid and spout with liquid inside and passed them all facilitmente.

Ps. The teapot is much darker than in the picture, the color is realistic in the picture that shows the bottom.

Pps. I apologize again for the quality of photos, from which emerges my inability to take good photos!

http://imageshack.us/a/img24/4013/ukzp.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img839/1936/uup8.jpg
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http://imageshack.us/a/img594/174/l185.jpg
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http://imageshack.us/a/img827/8199/a2x7.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img706/6541/ukdw.jpg
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http://imageshack.us/a/img855/3227/pdts.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img607/2425/rf7i.jpg

[SilentChaos]

I would have to handle to pot to get a better idea, but from photos alone that looks like a wheel spun Taiwanese pot.

[William]

I would have to handle to pot to get a better idea, but from photos alone that looks like a wheel spun Taiwanese pot.

This should be a method of working by hand, right?

[Teaism]

I think this is a 90's Yixing teapot with zisha clay and semi mounded and handmade. This is just a guess base in the photos. The base on the interior of the pot has mallet mark which can only be achieved with zisha. Wheel spun pot don't show any mallet mark. There are bamboo scraping profile on the interior of the pot at the top where the cover sits. This is an indication of handmade pot. The pot profile geometrically is too perfect for fully handmade pot , it is likely to be moulded with perfect touch up on the joints. Overall, this is a nice pot .

I like to add that many recent reproductions of 80s and 90s pots look quite close to this pot.

Well,unless I handle the real thing, it is just a wild guess.

[SilentChaos]

On second thought, I think you're right. The walls and the base are separate pieces. I wonder how many seams that wall has.

[MarshalN]

Those are not mallet marks, those are scrape marks with tools that they use to smooth out the interior of the pots.

[Teaism]

Those are not mallet marks, those are scrape marks with tools that they use to smooth out the interior of the pots.

I am referring to the base of the interior of the pot. Quite definitely it is a mallet mark. The bamboo scrap mark is at the exterior base. The wall of the interior is possibly bamboo scrap mark.

[William]

Thank you all for your interest, I have tried to make better photos of inside, with poor results .. I hope they can help!

Ps. Inside was not completely dry.

http://imageshack.us/a/img694/8845/6faz.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img594/5923/v4ud.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img543/6042/86le.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img843/2268/dprv.jpg