A couple of clay teapots

[amytheorangutan]

Hello all! 
 

I had difficulty trying to decide where to post this because it’s not strictly about quick translation. I’ve been given 2 clay teapots that I believe might be yixing teapots. I have no knowledge about teapots whatsoever so I have 2 general questions about these 2 teapots. 
 

1. Does anyone know the quality of the make by looking at these photos? I know that one of them I think the maker is 袁義和 from looking at the seal on the bottom of the handle but the other one, I can’t see any seal other than the writing at the bottom of the pot in cursive that I can’t read, so I’d love to know what it says. 
 

2. They have quite a lot of stains both from tea and white stains which I guess is mineral deposits? Maybe I’m wrong, also these have been sitting around in god knows where for ages so I wonder if anyone here know if there is any way I could clean the white stains and give me some good tips on how to clean it well but gently. Also would these be safe to use? 
 

Thanks so much in advance! 
 

 

This is the other teapot, this is the one I think the maker is 袁義和

[abcdefg]

@amytheorangutan -- The first one is a classic shape, one I like a lot. Cannot remember the name of the shape at the moment. I think it is named after one of the seven classic beauties in Chinese literature. A famous lady's name.

 

Check how it pours. Check the fit of the lid. If it's tight and the pot pours well (spout and lip intact) and you decide to begin using it, would suggest ignoring the white stain. Don't try to remove it. Any process that removes the stain will quite possibly also remove some of the good flavors that have worked their way into the clay over the years. 

 

The second pot doesn't look too hot. Looks like the lid doesn't fit.

 

 

I will come back and post a link on how to actually check the fit of the lid. Pretty sure I wrote it up in one of my tea and tea ware posts in this forum: https://www.chinese-forums.com/forums/topic/54133-tea-articles-a-users-guide/  

[abcdefg]

Amy -- Couldn't find it as posted in this forum. Here's a quickie I wrote for another website. (How to test a teapot before buying.)

 

>>Any decent teapot vendor will have a large basin or bucket of water somewhere in the store. At times it will be an ornamental basin or even a fountain. Buyers want to test the pour of a handcrafted pot before paying their money.

The store may let you test it yourself if they are convinced you know what you are doing. If not, the salesclerk does it for you while you watch.

The basic “down and dirty” testing done before purchase is straight forward. It has 3 parts.

1.    Fill the pot half or two-thirds full of water (not hot water, not tea, just room temperature water) and pour it out slowly. As you pour, try pouring a pot of water from a low height and then from higher. A poorly designed or executed lip might manage a decent stream from a low height, but not when the pot is held higher. The stream “breaks up” and turns into a partial spray if the lip isn’t made well.

2.    Fill it again half or two thirds full and begin pouring a stream. Then cover the hole in the cap with one finger. The water stream should stop.

3.    Fill it again half or two thirds full and cover the end of the pouring spout with one finger. Turn the pot upside down and see if the lid falls off. Do this in such a manner that the lid won’t be damaged or broken if it fails the test; arrange for it to have a soft landing, perhaps on a folded-up towel in the water basin.

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[Balthazar]

@amytheorangutan Since these are pots that you own, I suggest you ask in the Yixing thread over at teaforum.org. There are some highly knowledgeable people over there and there's probably no other (English language) place better to ask.

 

As I'm sure you know, there's plenty of fakes floating around. I do get a bit of a "fake antique" vibe from the second pot in particular. "袁義和" is a stamp commonly seen in late Qing (it's not a potter afaik). Here's one mention of it:

Quote

晚清朱泥壶精品中有“袁义和”或“义和”款。张虹《阳羡砂壶图考》注有：“据潮人言，义和乃潮人，嗜饮茶，尝订造茗壶，至今州人以义和壶细小适用竟珍爱过于曼生壶，然各有所嗜，亦可纪也”。

 

If the pot truly is an antique zhuni pot, then you have a treasure (possibly worth a small fortune) in your possession. If it ain't, then you might have a shoepolish-patina and potentially (but not necessarily) hazardous pot. I am no expert and could very well be wrong (I hope I am!), and again I suggest heading over to Teaforum to hear what the members more familiar with antiques think about it

 

As for cleaning/resetting the pots, this is a good method. Personally, I'd definitely reset these pots if you are uncertain about their origin. You'll be able to develop a patina of your own with use over time anyways.

[889]

山空松子落
聽濤

 

Looks pretty clear to me that the lid and pot have been married on the second one. The clay is different.

 

Check the lids carefully. Yixing ware is usually marked on both the pot and the lid.

 

Also check carefully for cracks before using; they can be very difficult to see (especially when you're in a store looking at a possible purchase).

 

As to the white spots, the inscription sort of looks like there's just a thin layer of red stuff on the outside, with something whiter underneath forming the body. Of course that may just be the photo, but examine it closely. Ditto around the spout.

 

On the off chance these have value, don't go scrubbing away!

[amytheorangutan]

Thank you so much! @abcdefg @Balthazar and @889 what a wealth of knowledge! I’m reading through all of these. I will definitely try the tests at home and I’ll head off to teaforum as well.

 

Regarding the top of the second pot I did notice that it’s not completely fitted, it was a little bit lose so sometimes when I put the lid on it’s not aligned like that and sometimes it does. I guess that doesn’t say precision ? I will treasure these pots regardless as my uncle gave them to me but I’m also curious if it has interesting story/history behind it.

 

 

[amytheorangutan]

Thanks again guys, you are right. The second teapot with the apparently mismatched lid failed number 2 and 3 test that @abcdefg listed above. The first teapot passed all 3. 

[Balthazar]

On 6/25/2022 at 6:43 AM, amytheorangutan said:

Thanks again guys, you are right. The second teapot with the apparently mismatched lid failed number 2 and 3 test that @abcdefg listed above. The first teapot passed all 3. 

 

Do note that lid fit and pour stream says very little about the quality of the pot in terms of the "final output ", i.e. the brew in your cup. I don't care much about lid fit at all (it's hard to find affordable factory era pots with a perfect lid fit). And a slow pouring one you'll usually learn to adjust your brewing parameters to accommodate.

 

Mismatched lids will reduce the market value quite a bit, but they can add charm and character and perhaps your uncle has a funny story about why the pot got a new lid in the first place ?

[abcdefg]

It's always fun to get acquainted with a new tea pot. To learn its strengths, what it does best. Hope one or both these pots turn out to work well for you, Amy. I've never been a collector. Just a daily user. Left half a dozen fine teapots in my Kunming apartment when I fled Covid. Had taken to visiting the "teapot village" on the outskirts of Jianshui 建水 once or twice a year.  Couldn't resist buying them at their source. A dozen or so small "family factories" there, using the local clay.  

 

Trips to Yixing 宜兴 took longer, it was farther away. But Jianshui 建水 was only 2 or 3 hours south by train. 

[amytheorangutan]

On 6/25/2022 at 7:38 PM, abcdefg said:

Hope one or both these pots turn out to work well for you, Amy. I've never been a collector. Just a daily user. Left half a dozen fine teapots in my Kunming apartment when I fled Covid.

Thank you! I just really appreciate them because my uncle gave them to me. He gave me another small pot that I haven’t got the chance to take a picture yet. I will definitely treasure these pots and will try to use them. 
 

That is such a shame that you had to leave them behind ? 

 

Someone from teaforum told me that the first teapot is not yixing but chaozhou/shantou pot and the one with the mismatched lid, might be an antique lid with a modern body. I really enjoy learning about all these.