Featured Yixing Zisha Purple Clay Teapot "What does it say?"

Hi members. I found this Chinese teapot at the thrift store today and fell in love with its shape. I lookied on-line (Ebay & Etsy) and think is is vintage (over 20 years according to Etsy's Requirement) Chinese Yixing Zisha Purple clay teapot. There is a tiny oval Backstamp inside the lid (see Photo) and a square larger stamp on the bottom. One side of the teapot looks like blossoms incised and then on the other side of the teapot is what I believe is chinese characters. Can anyone help me with what the marks day and who made this? Is it signed by an individual or company? Also I don't know if I got a good deal....I paid $9.50 for it. It is about 5.25" tall including the handle and 7" across including the spout and handle. Thank you. I hope I load the 8 photos right!!!

 

OOppps! I don't know how I did it but I ended up with repeats of the photos. Couldn't figure how to remove the extras. So sorry!!!

 

Cant help Karen but I LOVE the lines on this piece. It reminds me of 1930s Hall teapots.

 

Hopefully someone will come along who knows something about it. Yes I love the lines of the teapot too! It's why I bought it.

 

very pretty......

 

There are a few sites with Yixing marks out there.

Gotheborg:

http://gotheborg.com/marks/yixing.shtml

Lita Xu Ling Kelly's blog:

http://litaxulingkelley.blogspot.com/p/yixing-teapot-makers-marks.html

I like it - kind of an ancient oil lamp shape. Haven't seen one that shape before. I'd guess it's new(ish) - the base has some wear, but I think that shape isn't right for older ones. I'm no expert though. I have no clue how to value these. I've picked up a few recently but none that look like this!

EDIT:

There are a few threads on this site that have some additional info from other members if you search yixing in the search bar at the top.

 

LOVE IT !!! ... Joy.

 

Lovely teapot, Karen, great lines. And a great buy.
It looks very Modernist, and I am sure could be frowned upon by some Yixing teapot traditionalists, but Yixing teapot designs have always evolved over the centuries. It is not according to traditional requirements, but otherwise well designed and elegant. It pleases the eye, and that is what you want in your home.

Aaron has given you great info, both on the other Yixing threads and the marks sites. You stand a better chance of finding the mark if it is this way around (and I hope I got it right):

 

Maybe @daveydempsey will be so kind to remove the extras.

You have probably noticed that there are a lot of things on Etsy that are neither 20 yrs old nor handmade. But yours certainly looks over 20 yrs old. This is just a guess, but I would think 70s-80s.

 

Aaroncab, I looked at Gotheborg and Lita Xu Ling Kelly's blog bt was unable to find the marks. I'm really interested in the Chinese characters on the side of the teapot and what they translate into in English. Maybe someone will come along who can read them. Thank you for your interest and comments on my piece.

 

That is the shape of mine. But the one you showed above looks newer and doesn't have the blossoms on one side and the Chinese characters on the other side. Mine also has the makers' marks on the bottom and inside the lid. The clay on mine is also darker. Anyone have suggestions as to if mine and the above one are from the same maker?????

 

The lid maybe turned on their's so it looks just like a rectangle knob. Mine looks that way if I turn the lid too.

 

My experience with these is certainly limited, but I believe it is very common to have the maker's mark inside the lid as well. The flowers on yours are prunus blossoms. (Cherry tree), a very common decorative theme on chinese ceramics. INH paged out Asian Fever - who will most likely help with the translation of the characters on your teapot - to take a guess without knowing anything about the characters - it's probably something about tea - or good health, or both. It's my understanding that there are plenty of natural variations in the color of Yixing clay - and a lot of modern ones aren't made with actual "Yixing" clay but similar. Also sometimes coloring is added to other clay to make it appear similar to authentic clay.

 

I've been seeing quite a few lately that are souvenirs brought home from the Olympics.

 

It’s absolutely beautiful. I love the lines.