Yixng Teapot

[kardinalisimo]

Obviously a more recent one but wonder if the artist/maker can be identified.
Thanks

[peterp]

As for me, I cannot help with this. Please see http://www.chinese-antique-porcelain.com/teapot-marks.html

[kardinalisimo]

Thanks for the reply.
The only source with marks, although quite incomplete is here but the author promise to expand it.

[link removed by admin - please post only links to substantial sites, like museums, institutions, organizations, etc.]

[peterp]

Please do not rely on such resources. There are books on Yixing wares in Chinese, which have some marks I believe, but I do not know if there are any in English.  You may find something on the Yixing town website, but perhaps not in English. As usual, marks from unverified sources are unreliable. Although master artisans will probably mark their items, the fakers also use these also if they think the items will attract collectors. And that may be the case with vintage as well as still living artisan's names.
With Yixing wares the same is valid as with porcelain, marks are only of use when the age of an item is known.
Generally said, older Yixing wares (antiques, Qing dynasty) are often not marked, and artisans of those periods are little known, as far as I know.
There are name lists of the better known existing or vintage artisans, but with a craft where even the material can be fake, what is the purpose of the mark when you are not sure if the zisha or zhusha clay is genuine or made up?

Just look at the warning at the bottom of this page: http://www.chinese-antique-porcelain.com/yixing-pottery.html
This is nothing of the past, this is still common knowledge here, and users will try to avoid the fake tea pots, which are newer.
Always look for good usage signs that may indicate age. Your pot looks fairly new.

If you cannot see the difference between a new and an old pot, the mark is of no use. Honestly, I cannot see it either, although I try learning about it ... :-)
Each time I buy some Yixing tea pot that has no clear usage signs, those dealers or collectors who are specialized on the tea pots tell me it is fake.

The good news is that they seem to have discovered a zisha clay quarry elsewhere in China, so it is possible that in future the toxic clay problem may be resolved, hopefully, but that will not be Yixing clay anymore. The location is farther north.