Apr 4th, '14, 14:01
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Looking for information about this Yixing teapot

by raoula » Apr 4th, '14, 14:01

Hello teachatters, this is my first posting.
I found this yixing teapot at a thrift shop and fell in love with it. Knowing nothing about yixing ceramics, I found your teachat while searching for some information on it. Now I have already spent quite a few hours here, reading, looking and admiring.

I would be grateful if you could give me some opinion on it, it's age and the meaning of the chop marks.
teapot.w 1.jpg
teapot.w 1.jpg (23.4 KiB) Viewed 1693 times
Teapot.w 2 top.jpg
Teapot.w 2 top.jpg (36.02 KiB) Viewed 1693 times
teapot w 3 .jpg
teapot w 3 .jpg (18.88 KiB) Viewed 1693 times
Oups, I can only show 3 pictures here?
The teapot has 2 chop seals in the lid, one at the handle and one at the bottom. Maybe I can show them in a second post?

Apr 4th, '14, 14:09
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Re: Looking for information about this Yixing teapot

by raoula » Apr 4th, '14, 14:09

Here are the chop marks of the handle and the lid.
teapot w. 5.jpg
teapot w. 5.jpg (33.74 KiB) Viewed 1690 times
Teapot w.4.jpg
Teapot w.4.jpg (83.63 KiB) Viewed 1690 times
Many thanks, I am looking forward to your answers.

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Apr 5th, '14, 01:31
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Re: Looking for information about this Yixing teapot

by bagua7 » Apr 5th, '14, 01:31

Heini clay, I suppose.

There was a thread on this clay that can give you some insight about your query, in case you missed it:

Heini...Another Quest

Apr 5th, '14, 04:32
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Re: Looking for information about this Yixing teapot

by raoula » Apr 5th, '14, 04:32

Thanks for the link, bagua7!
You think this is heini clay? Since this teapot does not look very old, it has never been used before, it is likely dyed with manganese? (From what I read in the link you posted)

The colour is not black, the clay is dark brown. The colour on the third picture (bottom) resembles best. I assumed it was zini.
It is not porous, so likely high fired. The sound is rather high and porcelain like, not dull. The outside feels quite smooth, inside the lid one feels a little more claylike structure.

Someone told me the chop on the bottom means Zhongguo Yixing and dated it to the 90s. I can't relate the seal to the other stamps I have seen, especially not to the stamps of factory 1, which I thought meant Zhongguo Yixing (maybe I am wrong). Do you have any opinions on the seal?

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Apr 5th, '14, 23:12
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Re: Looking for information about this Yixing teapot

by bagua7 » Apr 5th, '14, 23:12

It is hard to judge by looking at your pics, that's why I said: I suppose; in other words, I am not 100% sure.

How does your pot compare to the following one?

Heini pot

Much the same or different?

That's all I can say, please wait for more experienced users to chime in so they can give a more accurate opinion.

Apr 6th, '14, 02:45
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Re: Looking for information about this Yixing teapot

by devilducklings » Apr 6th, '14, 02:45

Perhaps this small tidbits is of an interest for you (pardon me if or you have already known)
The cloud like pattern around the teapot body and around the knob lid is what supposed to be RuYi cloud pattern, an auspicious symbol often used in chinese arts.
Ru Yi literaly means "as you wish"

Apr 6th, '14, 11:10
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Re: Looking for information about this Yixing teapot

by raoula » Apr 6th, '14, 11:10

Bagua7, the colour is not as dark as the heini teapot in your link.
I tried to take another photograph as to put it in relation to other colours.
farbe.jpg
farbe.jpg (30.49 KiB) Viewed 1511 times
Also another picture of the bottom seal. I hope it shows the characters in the right direction.
siegel Kopie.jpg
siegel Kopie.jpg (31.98 KiB) Viewed 1511 times
Davidducklings, thanks for letting me know the meaning of the pattern! I have read in this forum that the decoration around the shoulder was called Ru Yi pattern. But I did not know the pattern on the lid is part of it. And I did not know, what it means. I really like the idea that it means "as you wish" :D

Someone in this forum showed a copy of "Gu JingZhou's Yun Jian Ru Yi Hu", which has 3 little feet at the bottom and no rim. So maybe my teapot is a copy of a variation of that theme?

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Apr 6th, '14, 11:12
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Re: Looking for information about this Yixing teapot

by kyarazen » Apr 6th, '14, 11:12

zini high fired becomes that color

btw nice tea platter. the platter's probably older than the pot if i'm not wrong :)

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Apr 6th, '14, 11:36
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Re: Looking for information about this Yixing teapot

by kyarazen » Apr 6th, '14, 11:36

raoula wrote:Hello teachatters, this is my first posting.
I found this yixing teapot at a thrift shop and fell in love with it. Knowing nothing about yixing ceramics, I found your teachat while searching for some information on it. Now I have already spent quite a few hours here, reading, looking and admiring.

I would be grateful if you could give me some opinion on it, it's age and the meaning of the chop marks.


Oups, I can only show 3 pictures here?
The teapot has 2 chop seals in the lid, one at the handle and one at the bottom. Maybe I can show them in a second post?
cant see the handle seal properly.

bottom round seal says its made by Cheng Peng. (Cheng Peng Zhi Tao)
under the lid, its his name still, Cheng Peng.

pot type is Yun Jian Ruyi style, probably inspired from chu kexin version.
material looks like zini, higher fired so its a bit darker (does the pot have a metallic ring and low porosity?). possibly a 90s and later product. you might want to have one of the forum clay experts to give you the confirmation of the age via the clay type.

Apr 6th, '14, 11:55
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Re: Looking for information about this Yixing teapot

by raoula » Apr 6th, '14, 11:55

Thank you very much, kyarazen.
Yes, I think so too, the platter is older. Someone here from the museum told me it was new, but I guess he meant "new" in the art-historical context. He explained the seal means Tangdu ceramic production cooperative. I looked for it on google and it seems this cooperative was in existance before factory 1. I guess the plate was made in the 50s? But I could not find much more. And I think there is no signature of the artist to find on it, even though the seal has a lot of characters.

Great, you did translate it! Now I have a lot to look up in the internet. Great and many thanks!

Here is another picture of the handle.
handle Kopie.jpg
handle Kopie.jpg (24.24 KiB) Viewed 1491 times

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Apr 6th, '14, 12:24
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Re: Looking for information about this Yixing teapot

by kyarazen » Apr 6th, '14, 12:24

raoula wrote:Thank you very much, kyarazen.
Yes, I think so too, the platter is older. Someone here from the museum told me it was new, but I guess he meant "new" in the art-historical context. He explained the seal means Tangdu ceramic production cooperative. I looked for it on google and it seems this cooperative was in existance before factory 1. I guess the plate was made in the 50s? But I could not find much more. And I think there is no signature of the artist to find on it, even though the seal has a lot of characters.

Great, you did translate it! Now I have a lot to look up in the internet. Great and many thanks!

Here is another picture of the handle.
plate probably closer to 80s.

the word under the handle is 顾. (no idea if its his surname, or someone else's)
name of person is 程鹏 (based on lid seal and pot bottom seal)

Apr 6th, '14, 13:33
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Re: Looking for information about this Yixing teapot

by raoula » Apr 6th, '14, 13:33

Thank you for the chinese characters, kyarazen! With them I was able to find this website
http://gys.zisha.com/author/catalog/1103.shtml

It might be him, a pity I could not find any pictures of his works.
This guy is not so old what confirms neither is the teapot :lol:

Maybe the dish is from the 80s, I don't know. I can't judge it by the artistic style, because I have not seen enough Yixing items. I understood the Tangdu Pottery Producers Cooperative closed down around 1955 but very likely I got that wrong.

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