Banko teapot colour

[registersano]

Hi fellow masters and tea lovers,

This teapot is claimed to be made of Banko.

Is it normal for Banko to be grey?

Isn't it supposed to be purple or black?

Thanks.

[JRS22]

Banko can refer to the city where the potter resides. This artistic nippon page has more information and examples of pots that are legitimately considered banko pots without being made from “banko” clay.

https://www.artisticnippon.com/product/ ... index.html

[lopin]

I think this is a result of taking photo with flash.

[dancingLeaves]

Dear Registersano,
you are completely right: banko clay is usally more purple in appearence, but there seem to be some effects when polished or compressed, then the clay gets a metallic shine. I use one banko kyusu of master Iroku (who does this diamond-cut technique) and there the pot has a much stronger metallic shine, than my banko kyusu by master Masaki. By glancing on the photo, it seems, that the surface is polished a lot (which results in a certain compression of the clay [just on the surface], too). When you look at the pot with different light - is there still a hint of purple in colour?
Could you describe, how the colour is of the kyusu´s inside? Sometimes they use that stronger polishing only on the outer surface - maybe the inside is a bit more purplish?

Greetings!

Hi fellow masters and tea lovers,

This teapot is claimed to be made of Banko.

Is it normal for Banko to be grey?

Isn't it supposed to be purple or black?

Thanks.