I have these two pretty yixing pots. The pumpkin one is from Jing Tea Shop and it is said to be Xiao Hong Ni clay. The three-legged pot I got from Lau Yu Fat Tea Shop yesterday. Their website is in chinese and this is how the clay was described: 紅皮龍
I used Babelfish and it was translated as "Red Pi Long ". I remember reading that Hong Pi Long is same clay as Hong Qing Shui Ni, so I thought that ok, this is Qing Shui Ni clay. When the pot arrived yesterday I noticed that the clay looks very similar than in the pumpkin pot. Are Xiao Hong Ni and Qing Shui Ni really so similar looking? Or am I remembering things incorrectly and Hong Pi Long is not same as Qing Shui Ni? Here are some close shots. The color of the clay is actually more red, very much like in the first photo where the two pots are together.
Pumpkin - does this look like Hong Ni?
Three-legged - does this look like Qing Shui Ni?
Both pots have that pure clay smell, the smell of hot rocks. The pumpkin pot "sizzles" when hot water is poured over it and three-legged pot doesn't. So it seems to me that the clay in pumpkin pot is more porous because it seems to absorb water more readily. But isn't Hong Ni supposed to be "hard" clay that does not absorb much? Or does the burning temperature in kiln have big effect on the porosity of clay?
I love both of these pots but it would be nice to know what they really are...
I am guessing it's hong ni (red clay). Is it anything different from the kind of clay used to make red bricks? (maybe more density?) or the kind of red terra cotta used to make plant pots?
In my head when I first saw the subject of the post without reading the actual post, I thought "I hope Charlie chimes in here."
