· Yixing · 2 minutes
Yixing teapot prices - Yinchen Studio
Over the past few months, I have been reading a lot about Yixing teapots - types of clay, production methods, etc. As a result, I also spent a lot of time on websites selling such teapots, and I would like to share what I found.
It is well known that the price of Yixing teapots is largely abstract, and although some types of clay are more expensive than others, they do not have such a significant impact on the final price. On the other hand, the reputation of the studio or the type of teapot craftsmanship (handmade/semi-handmade) has a greater influence. One must also not forget about sales volume - if a shop buys only a few teapots, it is unlikely to receive a wholesale price, which can make the final price up to 2 times higher. But, of course, the desire for profit combined with the difficulty of verifying the price can inflate it arbitrarily, and this is exactly what I wanted to demonstrate using the example of Yinchen Studio.
Yinchen Studio has a reputation as a reliable source for purchasing teapots, where you can find both classic and more exotic shapes. On their website, I did not find much information about their production process, only information about the founders: “…was found by Master Gao jian qiang & Master Xu mei ping in 2000. We insist on using the original Yixing purple clay which from Huanglong mountain.” One might conclude that they make the teapots themselves somewhere near Yixing, and therefore offer very competitive prices…
However, from time to time I shop on Taobao (the Chinese equivalent of eBay), and I happened to find at least 2 teapots there that are identical to those from Yinchen - apart from the shape, the clay is also very distinctive - it contains a relatively high amount of mica and iron granules.
The price, however, differs significantly - those from Taobao cost about 58 USD, while those from Yinchen are as much as 139 USD. I am no expert, but I would guess that the chance of two studios having identical molds and clay is negligible. What do you think about such practices - is it fair?
Cover photo: taobao
