Zhuni teapots, mostly small in size, are adorable and thus widely loved by teapot enthusiasts. However, due to the relatively low reserves of zhuni, high-quality zhuni is rather rare and precious, making it a common target for clay counterfeiting.
Genuine Zhuni West Lake Lady Teapot
So how can one buy authentic, genuine zhuni? Please read on.
The classification of genuine zhuni generally divides it into three types: Huanglong Mountain Zhuni, Small Coal Mine Zhuni, and Zhaozhuang Zhuni.
1. Huanglong Mountain Zhuni is a thin layer of oily clay found between the top yellow stone and purple clay deposits. After firing, it appears unpolished and lusterless, with an Orange-red color.
2. The Small Coal Mine area is abundant in zhuni production, with the largest output. When fired, its color is bright and vivid.
3. Zhaozhuang is famous for producing red clay. Zhaozhuang Zhuni is the fatty clay found between rotten yellow stone and red clay deposits, which is also scarce. After firing, its color is dark red.
Genuine vs. Fake Zhuni
Genuine zhuni comes in only one form:
Zhuni raw stone is weathered and then sieved through a screen of a certain mesh size, water is added, and it is mixed and aged. No other substances are added except for water.
Original Zhuni Fish Dragon Teapot
Fake zhuni can be divided into several categories:
1. Using non-local clay to imitate local clay, such as using tender red clay from Zhejiang Changxing to mimic Zhaozhuang Zhuni.
2. To mask excessive impurities in the clay, very fine clay slurry is added.
Iron Yellow Powder
3. A small amount of iron oxide red and iron yellow powder is added to other clays, such as adding iron yellow powder to white or light-colored tender clays. The raw clay is yellow and after firing turns to a zhuni red color, imitating Huanglong Mountain original zhuni or Small Coal Mine Zhuni.
Characteristics of Fake Zhuni
1. To identify authenticity, hands-on inspection is needed. A zhuni teapot available for 100 yuan with free shipping on Taobao that claims to be handmade is definitely not real, yet it may appear to have great texture in photos.
2. The finished pot has a bright, oily, and abnormally smooth surface without the warmth characteristic of zisha (purple clay).
A fake zhuni teapot available for a few dozen yuan with free shipping on Taobao
3. Poor Tea compatibility, causing a stuffy taste when brewing tea.
Injection-molded fake zhuni teapot
4. Zhuni is difficult to work with, so oddly shaped pots, those overly large or small, and those with poor color development are likely to be fake zhuni or injection-molded teapots.
Characteristics of Genuine Zhuni
1. Zhuni has a high degree of crystallization, and its cross-section resembles Porcelain but retains the characteristics of zisha, allowing for breathability when steeping tea.
Original Zhuni
2. Before firing, the clay is orange-yellow, and after firing, depending on the source and kiln temperature, it can present colors ranging from red with an orange hue, orange with a red hue, or dark red, but never artificially glossy, with a warm and smooth texture.
Original Zhuni Dezhong Teapot
3. Low sand content. Like original green mountain clay, after firing, almost no particles are visible.
After reading this, we hope teapot enthusiasts now have a general understanding of zhuni teapots.
When playing with teapots, be cautious, keep your eyes open, and don't get scammed.
Source: Tea Art Master Studio
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