Anybody know anything about Chinese Teapots?

blue lander · 17th March 2015, 05:19 PM

I think your theory just might be right, Vandoo!

It's similar to Yixing teapots, of which I have a couple. But this one is much much larger and the surface texture is like cement. It would make a very poor teapot as it'd be very difficult to the tea leaves out.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yixing_clay_teapot

If it is from Yixing, why would it have Mongolian writing on it? Since the writing is nonsense maybe it was purely decorational. The writing is "correctly" formed but it doesn't mean anything, at least not in Mongolian. The Manchu/Jurchen used to use the same writing system but that was hundreds of years ago.

VANDOO · 17th March 2015, 05:56 PM

WHEN I WAS LOOKING AT THE YIXING CERAMIC WORK IT WAS AMAZING THE MANY FORMS THEY HAD ON HAND. IT LOOKED LIKE THEY COPYIED ANYTHING THEY SAW IN OLD BOOKS AS WELL AS MADE UP WILD DESIGNS AS THEY WENT. THIS WAS EARLY WHEN THE SHOPS ALL OVER CHINA WERE FULL OF ITEMS THAT HAD BEEN SITTING ON THE SHELF FOR MANY YEARS DUE TO LACK OF CUSTOMERS. A LOT OF THAT STUFF HAS SLOWLY BEEN SOLD TO TOURISTS AND ON EBAY SINCE CHINA OPENED UP TO TRADE. THE OLD STUFF IS USUALLY BETTER MADE THAN WHAT THEY ARE MAKING NOW UNFORTUNATELY. MANDARIN IS THE OFFICIAL LANGUAGE AND BASED ON MONGOLIAN SO PERHAPS THIS IS A COPY MADE OF EARLY MONGOLIAN TIMES ? THE EARLY REPLICAS WERE OFTEN MADE VERY MUCH LIKE THE ORIGINALS TO FOOL THE CHINESE COLLECTOR AND HAD TO BE VERY WELL DONE TO DO THAT. PERHAPS THAT IS WHAT YOU HAVE AT ANY RATE I LIKE IT , KINDS OF GROWS ON YOU LIKE A UGLY BULLDOG .

blue lander · 15th June 2015, 07:46 PM

I've shown this teapot to several Mongolian antique collectors and none of them know what it is. The writing means nothing (one said it might be a mantra, another said it might be a baby's lullaby) and the shape isn't traditional or anything like that. All have agreed that it's pretty old and very ugly, but that's it.

15th June 2015, 07:46 PM	#3
blue lander Member Join Date: Nov 2013 Posts: 456	I've shown this teapot to several Mongolian antique collectors and none of them know what it is. The writing means nothing (one said it might be a mantra, another said it might be a baby's lullaby) and the shape isn't traditional or anything like that. All have agreed that it's pretty old and very ugly, but that's it. Last edited by blue lander; 15th June 2015 at 08:03 PM.

17th March 2015, 05:19 PM	#1
blue lander Member Join Date: Nov 2013 Posts: 456	I think your theory just might be right, Vandoo! It's similar to Yixing teapots, of which I have a couple. But this one is much much larger and the surface texture is like cement. It would make a very poor teapot as it'd be very difficult to the tea leaves out. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yixing_clay_teapot If it is from Yixing, why would it have Mongolian writing on it? Since the writing is nonsense maybe it was purely decorational. The writing is "correctly" formed but it doesn't mean anything, at least not in Mongolian. The Manchu/Jurchen used to use the same writing system but that was hundreds of years ago.

17th March 2015, 05:56 PM	#2
VANDOO (deceased) Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: OKLAHOMA, USA Posts: 3,138	WHEN I WAS LOOKING AT THE YIXING CERAMIC WORK IT WAS AMAZING THE MANY FORMS THEY HAD ON HAND. IT LOOKED LIKE THEY COPYIED ANYTHING THEY SAW IN OLD BOOKS AS WELL AS MADE UP WILD DESIGNS AS THEY WENT. THIS WAS EARLY WHEN THE SHOPS ALL OVER CHINA WERE FULL OF ITEMS THAT HAD BEEN SITTING ON THE SHELF FOR MANY YEARS DUE TO LACK OF CUSTOMERS. A LOT OF THAT STUFF HAS SLOWLY BEEN SOLD TO TOURISTS AND ON EBAY SINCE CHINA OPENED UP TO TRADE. THE OLD STUFF IS USUALLY BETTER MADE THAN WHAT THEY ARE MAKING NOW UNFORTUNATELY. MANDARIN IS THE OFFICIAL LANGUAGE AND BASED ON MONGOLIAN SO PERHAPS THIS IS A COPY MADE OF EARLY MONGOLIAN TIMES ? THE EARLY REPLICAS WERE OFTEN MADE VERY MUCH LIKE THE ORIGINALS TO FOOL THE CHINESE COLLECTOR AND HAD TO BE VERY WELL DONE TO DO THAT. PERHAPS THAT IS WHAT YOU HAVE AT ANY RATE I LIKE IT , KINDS OF GROWS ON YOU LIKE A UGLY BULLDOG .