Enjoying Tea and Teapots is a healthy hobby that genuinely contributes to personal cultivation, and the Purple Clay Teapot as an essential tool is crucial. Therefore, this vessel must not be substandard.
There are many strange purple clay teapots on the market today; do not let these teapots lower your level of connoisseurship.
One: Colorful Chemical Teapots
Out of love for purple clay, you eagerly purchase your first purple clay Teapot only to find out it's a chemical teapot. This can be very disappointing.
These teapots typically have bright colors, achieved by adding chemical reagents which result in unnatural hues. Long-term use may be detrimental to health. The material used in these teapots is not purple clay but Pottery clay mixed with oxides to mimic the color of purple clay.
▲ Black gold sand with added manganese element
Two: Purple Clay Teapots That Lose Their Characteristics Due to Non-Traditional Techniques
The traditional method for forming a purple clay teapot involves slapping and shaping clay sheets around the body and joining them. However, some purple clay teapots available on the market today are made using techniques such as hand-pulling or slip casting, which deviate from tradition.
The raw material required for hand-pulled teapots is extremely fine clay slurry. Purple clay cannot be shaped by hand-pulling because it would tear, so other substances must be added. As a result, these teapots lose the breathability characteristic of genuine purple clay.
▲ Hand-pulling technique
Hand-pulled teapots lack the unique breathability of purple clay teapots and the charm of traditional handcrafted workmanship.
▲ Circular horizontal lines
These teapots, being formed through pulling, typically exhibit circular patterns on their inner walls.
Slip-cast teapots also differ in both material and process from genuine purple clay. Only a 200-mesh clay slurry can be used for slip casting, and glass water is often added. As a result, the clay loses its breathability.
▲ Slip casting technique
Slip-cast teapots are mass-produced, resulting in low cost and relatively rough craftsmanship.
▲ Typical slip-cast teapot
Three: Glazed and Sprayed Color-Adjusted Teapots
Sprayed and glazed teapots are a type of counterfeit that has emerged in recent years. While they are essentially purple clay teapots, their appearance is altered through spraying and glazing to mimic famous types of clay.
▲ Sprayed coloring
Common examples include spraying Qing mud to achieve a bright red hue to imitate Dahongpao clay, or spraying blue and green colors to mimic Tianqing clay.
▲ Sprayed fake Tianqing clay
This is quite noticeable as the color is unnatural, and a slight knock will reveal the original clay color beneath.
Four: Imitation Old Teapots and Teapots Falsely Attributed to Famous Artists
These imitation old teapots include new teapots with old marks, old teapots with marks of famous artists, and polishing to create a patina. For the first two, one needs a good understanding of the artist's works to identify differences in marks and style.
▲ Fake Shi Dabin mark
The latter involves polishing new teapots to create a false patina, burying them in soil, sprinkling ashes, or even applying shoe polish to give them the appearance of age.
▲ New teapot artificially aged to appear dirty and worn
When it comes to artificially aged teapots, apart from the bottom marks, the exterior is usually made to look like an old teapot. There are two common styles: one is particularly dirty, and the other is excessively shiny, making them relatively easy to distinguish.
When buying and enjoying teapots, proceed with caution. Think carefully before making a purchase, and avoid impulsive spending. Otherwise, purchasing any of the above types of teapots will indeed lower your level of connoisseurship.