HOW TO AUTHENTICATE OLD YIXING TEAPOTS-1

This is in fact the most frequently asked and also one of the most important questions that a would be collector or even a connoisseur would asked. Every Yixing teapot collector would come across so call old Yixing teapots and many would be tempted to buy even though they cannot authenticate it and have to depend on the words of the seller that it is indeed an old teapot. Most of the time, these collectors would discovered later that the teapot is not as old as it was claimed to be. At the worse case, the teapot is a fake and have been ‘made old’ to trick you. So how do you get around all these problems and ensure that what you purchase is truly an old Yixing Teapot?

To be a collector of Yixing teapots, one ought to have an in-depth knowledge of the subject. Know the history and background of Yixing teapots. Understand and be familiar with all the master craftsmen that ever lived and what they are famous for. Example; Jiang Rou, a Grand Master Craftsman of Yixing Zisha Factory (No.1) is an expert creating teapots that emulate real life things such as fruits and insects. So, if someone present to you a geometric teapot made by Jiang Rong, then immediately you know something is wrong. Similarly. Zhu Kexin, a master craftsman of the Ming Guo period, created the Bao Chun teapot in the 1960s, so if you come across a Bao Chun teapot made by someone earlier than that period, do you think it can an authentic piece?

Next, we also need to understand who or which masters are recognised by the central government. Before 1950, there was no proper organization and ranking to all the craftsmen working in Yixing and everyone have to mine, mix and cure their own zisha clay. With the formation of Yixing Zisha Factory (No. 1), these craftsmen were organized and ranked according to a set standard and courses to train new craftsmen were created. All craftsmen have to undergo a series of training comprising of (segments of 3 years each) apprenticeship in pottery, design courses and on-job training. Upon completion of this training period, they may take a craftsmen test and shall be decorated as a craftsman if they pass. They may subsequently progress to asst. master craftsman, master craftsman, senior master craftsman and finally national master craftsman. At every stage, an examination awaits the candiate. Of course, only those craftsmen in Yixing Zisha Factory (No. 1) are recognised by the central government.

Yixing Zisha Factory (No. 2) was formed in 1984 by brothers, Xu Siew Tang and Xu Han Tang, both master craftsmen. They managed to lured some craftsmen from Factory 1 to join them. Subsequent ranking of their craftsmen were self appointed and therefore not recognised by the central government. What does that mean to a teapot collector? Generally speaking that you should avoid collecting teapots made by craftsmen from Factory 2 since they are self appointed masters. However, we have to admit that there are a number of talented craftsmen in Factory 2 and we should collect based on quality rather than namesake.

That is just a bit of the knowledge that all collectors should at least be aware of. Next, lets discuss in detail what exactly you have to look out for when authenticating old teapots.

DESIGN
The design of teapots changes with each era. By reading books on old teapots, you will note that certain designs are popular in certain periods and other designs in another period. Although many masters have done it before, such as Gu Jinzhuo, it is possible to copy the design of the teapot but it is very difficult to copy the spirit. Without the spirit of the original design, an imitation teapot looks lifeless and has no appeal to be collected by anyone except the uneducated. Take the example of my late Qing period (you can view in my Antique Collections) Zhu Ni Shui Ping teapot; such design was created in the Qing dynasty and did pass on to the early days of Ming Guo period. Subsequently it is phased out as potters move on to newer designs. Such design therefore appear only during that period and the workmanship is impeccable. Imitation pieces would never be able to imitate the clay or the workmanship let alone the spirit of the teapot. So, having a knowledge of various teapot designs through the ages would help in determining roughly the age of the teapot. Taking the above example again; if I tell you that the teapot was made in the early Qing period (almost 300 years old) would you believe me? Sure, you can tell that the teapot is old but without the knowledge you won’t know that such design only appear in late Qing!

THE CLAY
I would consider recognising the age of zisha clay as the most difficult to learn because there is absolutely no material available to study or reference from. The matter is made worst by the fact that early craftsmen handle their own clay and each have their own secret way of mixing and preparing the clay for use. So the only way to learn is by handling as many types of teapots as possible especially those old teapots and not forgetting, imitation teapots. Only then can one gain the knowledge of how zisha clay changes through time, recognises the properties of old clay and most important of all, ability to weed out the fake teapots.

Example; zhu ni clay has properties that make it unsuitable for large teapots because it tends to crack-up during heating. So, if you see a large zhu ni teapot, then you can be sure that this teapot is not make of pure zhu ni but a mixture of other zisha clay also. The color and characteristics of zisha clay changes through time so it is possible to tell the age of a zisha teapot by looking at the clay. For example, since zhu ni went extinct by early 1970s, there cannot be zhu ni teapot make in the 1980s unless created by some masters who have kept the clay for so long.
Example; Tianqing clay (greyish color) appears during the mid-Qing dynasty and went extinct before end of Qing dynasty. It is so rare that some shops are claiming that teapots of Tianqing clay are from the Ming dynasty!

In fact, the properties of zisha clay is so complex that it sometime confuses even the experts if they are not careful. There have been many cases where teapot connoisseurs, who were recognized to be an expert in this field, got conned into purchasing teapots that have been treated to look old. Many auction houses now do not accept old teapots for auction because they do not have the expertise to really authenticate them.

WORKMANSHIP
In the old days, Yixing teapots are created by hand, meaning that every single part, curve and decor is create manually without the assistance of moulds. Time has changed with more and more craftsmen turning to moulds when creating teapots. However, many craftsmasters are still adhering to the tradition of full hand made teapots. Every master craftsman has skills that specialises in certain areas. Some are talented in making ‘hua huo’ or decorated teapots (such as Wang Yin Xian), others are extremely good in geometric shapes and so on.

Having specialised skills in one field does not mean that these potters will not create teapots of other shapes. But no matter what sort of teapot a master craftsman create, the workmanship and quality is undisputed. Every single detail is taken care of with no edges left untouched. If you come across so call teapots by masters but exhibits poor workmanship in certain parts of the teapot, then I advise that you take more than a second look because it is probably a fake!

MAKER’S CHOP
One of the unique feature of Yixing teapots is that every single piece have the maker’s chop. Most craftsman uses more than one type of chop and some of them does not even reflect their name or are written so artistically that unless you knew or seen it before, it is not possible to be sure who make the this teapot and whether it is authentic.

It is therefore not wise to buy any teapot based on solely on the maker’s chop. Since the early Ming Dynasty, many craftsmen have copied masters such as GongChun and Shi Dabin etc. Some of these copies are actually so well made that they become master pieces of their own. I personally come across collectors who purchased teapots based on the maker’s chop. They are willing to overlook all the defects in the teapot such as poor workmanship and lack of spirit, so long as the chop is that of a master’s!

In fact, fake maker’s chop in teapots for early masters are easy to detect because no matter how good these people are, they cannot manually copy the strokes of a character done by the masters. Even if they are able to do so, other tell tale signs such as the age of the clay etc. will help us distinguish it. The only problem is that most of us do not have access to such master pieces for comparision. Also, it helps if we understand the fact that all teapots by masters in the 16th century, such as Shi Dabin, are hand written signatures rather than seal chopped! So if you see a Shi Dabin teapot with a seal chop, it is guaranteed a fake. Seal chops never come into used till much later. Similarly, calligraphy on teapots although started in early Qing Dynasty, was only made popular by Chen Mansheng in the mid-Qing period. So how could a Ming Dynasty teapot come with calligraphy engraved on it?

BEWARE OF ‘MADE OLD’ TEAPOTS
There are many teapots on the market that have been treated or ‘made old’ to trick the unknowing. All these teapots are mostly not of Yixing origin and bears some masters’ chop. The outer surface have been sand down and rub with shoe brush, black soot and some even buried in soil for a period of time to give it a old and used look. This method is easy to tell because for many of them the inside of the teapot was not treated, one look at the clay reveals all. For those where the interior have been treated and the clay cannot be distinguish, a brush and a pail of hot water is all that is needed to wash the dirt away. I have heard of another method where the dirt cannot be removed using water and requires thinner to reveal the actual clay below.

I have seen such teapots everywhere I went, in China, Singapore, Taiwan, Hongkong and Malaysia etc. In fact I bought one many years ago and spent half a day brushing away the dirt from the surface of the teapot. Well, that teapot is still around and the chop at the bottom is that of ‘Shi DaBin’, the great master craftsman from Ming dynasty.

Very few old teapots survived centuries and still remain complete. Most old teapots are either chipped at the edge or missing one part of it. It is rare to find an old teapot that does not have a patina over the surface as a result of years of use. New teapots made old can never exihibit such patina unless it has been treated as I mentioned above.

 

So, now you understand that collecting Yixing teapot is difficult, authenticating an old Yixing is even more difficult. You just need to have that knowledge and there is no other way you are gonna acquired it except by seeing as many old teapots as possible. It is not common that ordinary collectors are able to have the opportunity to own a master teapot that are more than a century old. However, if such opportunity should appear, it is wise to authenticate it further by seeking the assistance of other experts since the chance of it being a fake is 99%!

Most, if not all collectors, paid for their lessons when they bought so call masters’ or old teapots which turn out to be fakes. It is a costly lesson and cannot be avoided. If you have not gone through this stage, then your are still far from being a teapot connoisseur.