Yixing pot, or not?

I have a small, red clay pot which looks like it might be a Yixing. There is no manufacturer mark on the bottom (or anywhere else that I recognize), but there are what appear to be Chinese ideograms scratched into the surface. (I don't read or write Chinese, so I could be ~very~ wrong about that!)

If one of you Yixing owners out there would be so kind, may I send you the photo I took of my pot? I am hoping someone can tell me if what I have is genuine, or a knock-off. (It's still a nice pot, regardless, but I'd like to know if it is a Yixing.)

I bought it several years ago at a flea market for practically nothing. The vendor was selling it cheap because it didn't appear to be finished--no glaze inside or out. I thought then that it might be one of those special tea pots I had recently read about, but no one around here knew.

I appreciate your help. If it's a useable pot, I'm going to try Cameron's baking method mentioned in another post. (I think.)

Thanks, Martha

Reply to
McLemore
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All kinds and all qualities of teapot are manufactured in Yixing, from the cheapest mass-produced molded vessels to the more expensive handmade artisans' wares to genuine art works (US$5,000 and up) that were thrown and hand-finished by lauded potters. Most commerical Yixing pots are machine-molded using a significantly lower grade of clay -- frequently not zisha (the famous "purple clay" of that area) -- and many are not fired at the proper temperature. In terms of design, these commercial teapots' flaws certainly do not render them unusable, but the defects can be annoying to someone who is accustomed to preparing gongfu cha with an adequately-made teapot.

In any case, the fact that a pot has originated in Yixing says virtually nothing about its quality or functionality or value. (Some excellent teapots are being made in Taiwan, too, by the way.) Only someone who is reasonably experienced in identifying pots and clay could tell you whether it's a decent vessel, and only an expert could declare any stamps or signature marks on the pot to be informative and genuine. The least expensive factory-produced pots often bear a "made in Yixing" ideogram stamp (even if they weren't), and artists' chop marks on higher quality pots, including antiques, can be forged or faked, so unless you know exactly what you're looking at/for, the presence or absence of identifying marks is literally meaningless. Hence the conventional and sensible advice: Select an appealing teapot that you like and can afford, and don't be influenced or impressed by claims of origin, quality, age, clay type, value, or authenticity.

:I appreciate your help. If it's a useable pot, I'm going to try :Cameron's baking method mentioned in another post. (I think.)

You'll only know if it's usable by trying to use it. Make sure to "cure" it first until the taste and aroma of clay dust are not present in your tea. And unless you're prepared to lose the pot, I wouldn't boil or bake it; even higher quality teapots that were imperfectly fired (or that contain a large, visually undectable air bubble/pocket in the clay itself) may crack or burst when subjected to that level of heat.

Reply to
Ma-Ma LaGrande Chung

Sorry I was unclear. I merely meant to reiterate my point: Knowing whether a teapot has been manufactured (or hand-made) in Yixing gives you no information regarding its quality, value, or functionality. A "Yixing teapot" might be outstanding, average, or just plain junk -- same as a "Detroit auto." I mentioned that some of the (gongfu-style) unglazed clay teapots from Taiwan are especially nice only as a supporting aside. So yes, "Yixing teapots" are definitely made in Yixing, which of course is why they're called "Yixing teapots."

Ma-Ma

Reply to
Ma-Ma LaGrande Chung

Martha, of course the fact that a pot is made in Yixing doesn't say much about its quality. But you can send me a scanned image of the botton of your pot if you want to know what is written on it.

Ma-Ma, la grande: it sounds like Italian!

"Ma-Ma LaGrande Chung" ha scritto nel messaggio news:VlDlb.1188$ snipped-for-privacy@newsread4.news.pas.earthlink.net...

Reply to
Livio Zanini

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