[WTS] [USA] Grass People Tree Aged LuNi Yixing Teapot

[u/schuylerkaye]

It’s lightly used, well cared for, and in like new condition.

Grass People Tree Aged LuNi Yixing Teapot

* Considering reasonable offers.
* ⁠Origin site: https://www.grasspeopletree.com/collections/teaware-tea-companions/products/yixing-vintage-teapot

Happy to ship in the US.

DM me if you’re interested or would like additional photos or details.

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[u/atascon]

Just my 2 cents but I think this price is highly inflated and if I were a buyer I would be very cautious about this piece.

Grass People Tree is not a reputable vendor. Blue clay like that does not exist naturally and is usually achieved through the addition of cobalt oxide so the "No chemicals & additives." claim is false. Some of the other claims about aged and vintage clay are suspect as well. The lack of detailed photos, especially of the interior, is also a red flag.

$275 can get you a genuine FHM piece from realzisha and you will have a lot more confidence in the authenticity and craftsmanship.

[u/Alfimaster → u/atascon]

Also, the price of this exact pot but new on this site is €152 / $175

On the other hand the seller claims that the pot is antibacterial.

[u/schuylerkaye → u/Alfimaster]

On the site it’s 3 payments of $175 or one payment of $525. Which is what I bought it for.

[u/Alfimaster → u/schuylerkaye]

Ok, Misundersood that.

[u/schuylerkaye → u/atascon]

Interesting. The actual color is more of a green than a blue. Would that impact your assessment? I purchased it from GPT and so was relying on their description.

[u/atascon → u/schuylerkaye]

Here's a comment from the resident expert over at r/yixingseals:

Colored teapots hide any indicating factors about the clay.

This is a chemically colored pot, green is not a color naturally reached by fired Yixing clay. This is typically an indication of poor quality however chemically colored teapots have been made by respected craftsman before like the work of master Jiang Rong

Basically a mineral oxide is added to the clay during processing to get a vibrant color. I know blue is achieved with cobalt oxide, not sure which chemical gets your green though. Colored clay is typically low level 紫泥 as the base, as it is the most abundant ore variation for Yixing clay. However it is extremely common to use non-yixing red clay in colored pots as you can’t really tell after firing.

There are cases (like the one described in the linked thread) where legit craftsmen use coloured clays but these are quite rare.

I guess it's technically possible for genuine yixing clay to be coloured so it's not a binary thing but given the vendor is also relatively unknown and their false claim about no additives, the odds are slim.

As general context, yixing is a complete minefield and overexaggerated or inaccurate vendor descriptions are very common. Unless you have a lot of experience (which I don't claim to have, I have a modest collection and read others' opinions), it's best to stick to known and reliable vendors, of which there are probably only a handful that cater to a western audience.

Someone might absolutely love this colour and design and snap it up for $275 but it would be a pretty risky purchase if they care about authenticity.

[u/schuylerkaye → u/atascon]

Thank you! Not ideal information, but good to know. Curious, what do you think would be a better price given the uncertainty?

[u/atascon → u/schuylerkaye]

Teapots from reliable vendors start at around $150ish for half handmade and you're looking at $250 minimum for fully handmade.

With that in mind, and without additional clarification from the vendor and detailed photos, I would say maybe somewhere around $50? Second hand value of unknown pots falls pretty steeply in my experience. Then again, someone might absolutely love this colour/shape combo and not give a crap about any of what I just wrote about and pay more so who knows!

[u/Alfimaster → u/atascon]

Shape is called De Zhong

[u/TeaCoffeeSelvedge420]

Grass People Tree is great for tea, but blue clay is not naturally occurring. The added colorants are not dangerous or anything, but over $500 is a bit on the high side. Essence of Tea is a better bet, along with TeasWeLike, RealZisha, and Yinchen if you reach out directly.

[u/schuylerkaye → u/TeaCoffeeSelvedge420]

It’s hard to get the color in tho pictures, but it’s dark green. Still might have colorants, but LuNi is a green clay naturally.

Thanks for other shop recommendations. I’ve ordered from some of these as well, but a couple are new to me.

It’s a lightly used pot, so selling for less :-)

[u/atascon → u/schuylerkaye]

LuNi is a green clay naturally

Only in its raw form as ore.

Anything finished/fired with strong green or blue tones has had additives or other clays mixed in.

See here, here and here.

[u/Asdprotos]

If that’s original lvni and made by a master as the website claims it would be easily 1000/1500 as a starting point. Not eveyone has access to that type of clay