McLemore wrote in message >...

:If one of you Yixing owners out there would be so kind, may I
:send you the photo I took of my pot? I am hoping someone can
:tell me if what I have is genuine, or a knock-off. (It's still a
:nice pot, regardless, but I'd like to know if it is a Yixing.)

All kinds and all qualities of teapot are manufactured in Yixing, from the
cheapest mass-produced molded vessels to the more expensive handmade artisans'
wares to genuine art works (US$5,000 and up) that were thrown and hand-finished
by lauded potters. Most commerical Yixing pots are machine-molded using a
significantly lower grade of clay -- frequently not zisha (the famous "purple
clay" of that area) -- and many are not fired at the proper temperature. In
terms of design, these commercial teapots' flaws certainly do not render them
unusable, but the defects can be annoying to someone who is accustomed to
preparing gongfu cha with an adequately-made teapot.

In any case, the fact that a pot has originated in Yixing says virtually
nothing about its quality or functionality or value. (Some excellent teapots
are being made in Taiwan, too, by the way.) Only someone who is reasonably
experienced in identifying pots and clay could tell you whether it's a decent
vessel, and only an expert could declare any stamps or signature marks on the
pot to be informative and genuine. The least expensive factory-produced pots
often bear a "made in Yixing" ideogram stamp (even if they weren't), and
artists' chop marks on higher quality pots, including antiques, can be forged
or faked, so unless you know exactly what you're looking at/for, the presence
or absence of identifying marks is literally meaningless. Hence the
conventional and sensible advice: Select an appealing teapot that you like and
can afford, and don't be influenced or impressed by claims of origin, quality,
age, clay type, value, or authenticity.

:I appreciate your help. If it's a useable pot, I'm going to try
:Cameron's baking method mentioned in another post. (I think.)

You'll only know if it's usable by trying to use it. Make sure to "cure" it
first until the taste and aroma of clay dust are not present in your tea. And
unless you're prepared to lose the pot, I wouldn't boil or bake it; even higher
quality teapots that were imperfectly fired (or that contain a large, visually
undectable air bubble/pocket in the clay itself) may crack or burst when
subjected to that level of heat.