Last night Hui-Chen visited our good friend Mr. Gan. Earlier in the week, Mr. Gan had telephoned me to tell me that he just received a new shipment of pots in from Japan. Naturally we were very interested to see what had just arrived! Little did I know that I would be walking out with 3 new pots! The Master who created these new pots is the same one who produced this little masterpiece below (previously blogged):
Here are the new pots!
A nice addition to any collection, I will show you the details about them below.
This pot is amazing. This is the best engineered teapot that I have ever seen, with the only possible exception being this one, also in my personal collection. The lid is the tightest fitting teapot lid (of this type) that I have ever examined. There is virtually no movement of the lid within the opening of the body. This is nearly impossible to achieve as the shrinkage of the materials from firing the clay is not uniform with respect to the lid and the pot body. The execution is without flaw. This is one of the most perfect pots that I have ever seen and the price tag on this pot is NT$7,800.
Let’s take a closeup look at the finish of this pot. Notice the hand carved gouges that resemble the bark of a tree. Mr. Gan had a similar pot last year made by this same Master, but I did not buy it right away. It sold before I came back to the store to get it. So I am very happy to have this one in my collection now.
Before I go onto the next photo, I would like you to consider something. The clay material of the pot is red. The finish is black. So, tell me how the Master could cut through the black finish and not show red clay? The colors are opposite of what they should be. This is another amazing aspect of the nearly-perfect engineering of this pot. Its such a simple little thing, this teapot, but it exhibits some extremely refined skills in its creation. This is real kung-fu.
Just another shot showing the nice proportions of this pot.
Finally, one last show showing the well-balanced profile. The workmanship is nothing short of incredible.
This pot is unusual in that the surface is shiny. The Master accomplished this by varying the firing of the pot (remember, the pot is not glazed). The markings on the pot are unique.
The opposite side shows a mottled look. Admittedly, it doesn’t look very attractive in this flash photography, but as often with things in life, the pot looks really nice when viewed in person.
This shot shows the nice proportions, the fat belly and the large opening. The pot is well balanced, and the engineering is good. There is a rough, “handmade” quality about this pot and the small flaws authenitcate it as being a hand-made individual piece and not a production pot. The price of this pot is NT$6,800.
Most of my pots are not exactly traditional Chinese style, so I am very happy to add this pot to round out my collection. Again, flash photography isn’t necessarily the best way to see this pot.
This shot shows the very intricate writing that adorns both sides of the pot. This was done by hand and is painstakely executed to perfection.
Overview shot of this pot showing the nice lines. The spout is exceptionally long, but is balanced by a well designed handle. The top fits snugly and the opening is wide. The price of this pot is NT$5,800 and I am happy to add this to my collection.
technorati tags:Mr. Gan, Taiwan, Hukou, tea, tea culture
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