MudandLeaves
  • Shop
  • About
  • Shipping Policies
  • Subscribe
  • Gift Guide
  • Blog
  • Shop
  • About
  • Shipping Policies
  • Subscribe
  • Gift Guide
  • Blog

teatime

The 3 Kinds of Dahongpao Clay

4/13/2019

1 Comment

 
Much has been said about the legendary "Dahongpao" clay from Yixing. Some say it's rare, others that it's extinct, others that it's still available, and others that dahongpao teapots are fake. There is some truth in each of these claims. 

When people say a teapot is made of Yixing Dahongpao clay, they may be referring to any one of three distinct kinds of clay; two of which are authentic original ore and one of which is not.
1. Zhuni Dahongpao
Zhuni dahongpao 朱泥大红袍 is the authentic dahongpao clay available in the market today. Zhuni Dahongpao comes from a special grade of zhuni ore. The raw dahongpao zhuni ore itself, when mined, is found within the larger zhuni ore layer. Raw dahongpao ore is found as round pieces of rock between 30-80mm in diameter. The ratio of dahongpao ore to regular zhuni ore is said to be 1:100, or 1kg of zhuni dahongpao ore for every 100kg of zhuni ore. Zhuni dahongpao ore is a similar yellow-brown color as regular zhuni ore, but after firing dahongpao zhuni becomes a deep red-orange color. Dahongpao zhuni has a greater amount of Fe2O3 iron oxide than regular zhuni giving it a deeper red-orange hue. It also contains a lower percentage of Al2O3  aluminum oxide than regular zhuni, making it more difficult to fire without breaking. The range of temperature for firing dahongpao zhuni successfully is very narrow. It also has a higher shrink rate than regular zhuni, sometimes shrinking as much as 40%.
Picture
Top left: Zhuni Dahongpao Ore / Top Right: Zhuni Dahongpao Teapot / Bottom left: Zhuni ore / Bottom right: Zhuni teapot

​2. Huang Long Shan Da Hongni "Dahongpao"
Another clay referred to as dahongpao, and so rare that it can probably only be seen today in museums including the Yixing Zisha Museum, is Huang Long Shan Da Hongni 黄龙山大红泥. This clay is different in appearance and character from zhuni, appearing as a dark red ore that after firing is a dark red clay. Huang Long Shan Da Hongni is much more porous that zhuni, and is closer in character to zini and hongni.
3. Mass-Market Dahongpao
 Since the deep rich red dahongpao known as Huang Long Shan Da Hongni 黄龙山大红泥 is so rare, why are there so many deep red teapots that are said to be made of dahongpao on the market? In many cases, dishonest potters will use regular zisha or a mixture of different clays and or zisha clays, and add iron oxide powder or other coloring to give the clay a very deep red color. These teapots are not original ore (pure zisha) Yixing teapots. We don’t recommend purchasing these teapots, as the mixture of clays and chemicals are unknown and unregulated. 
Picture
Mass-market "dahongpao" teapot. Notice the bright red greasy surface.

​Dahongpao (Huang Long Shan Da Hongni 黄龙山大红泥) is extremely rare. Zhuni dahongpao is still available and is mined a little bit each year, however, it is still rare as it is hand-picked from the larger amount of zhuni ore (itself a small percentage of the overall amount of zisha mined each year).

Unfortunately, most teapots being sold as “dahongpao” in the market are mixed clays, probably using iron oxide and other clays and/or chemicals. One way to tell if the clay is zhuni dahongpao as opposed to fake dahongpao, is the tone of the clay. Zhuni dahongpao appears much like zhuni, with a similar texture and quality to the clay, but with a redder orange tone. Zhuni dahongpao still has the zhuni orange tone. Fake dahongpao often tries to replicate the deep dark red of Huang Long Shan Da Hongni 黄龙山大红泥, although it often comes across a brighter red than actual Da Hongni clay. This is a red flag that the clay has had chemical colorant added to it.
1 Comment
Michal
10/10/2020 07:55:14 am

Hello,

I am a student of traditional chinese pottery.
Would you by so kind to sell Dahongpao Clay to Czech Republic please?

With best wishes,
Michal Slavicek

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Authors
    ​

    Siyan comes from Guangdong, China. A student of Chinese tea and tea culture, Siyan not only sources the finest Porcelain, Ruyao and other ceramic wears from our partners, she also researches the history of ceramics in China.
    ​
    Patrick first arrived in China over 10 years ago. A tea lover and Chinese ceramic collector, Patrick has too many teapots and probably drinks too much tea.

    Archives

    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    August 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    June 2018
    March 2018
    January 2018
    August 2016
    July 2016

    Categories

    All
    Benshan Luni
    Black Clay
    Contest
    Dahongpao
    Dehua
    Dicaoqing
    Doucai
    Duanni
    Fangcun
    Fanggu
    Fencai
    Fully Handmade
    Guangzhou
    Half Handmade
    Heini
    Hongni
    Huangjin Duan
    Interview
    Jiangponi
    Jianshui
    Jingdezhen
    Lacquerware
    Longjing
    Nixing
    Porcelain
    Qinghua
    Qinghuini
    Rongchang
    Ruyao
    Shan Kiln
    Taiwanese Tea
    Tea
    Tea Culture
    Teaware History
    Tianqing
    Tian Qing Ni
    Tibet
    Wood Kiln
    Yixing Teapots
    Youlihong
    Youshangcai
    Youxiacai
    Youxiawucai
    Youzhongcai
    Zhuni

    RSS Feed

Company

About
​Blog

Support

Contact
Shipping Policies
© Copyright 2020 MudandLeaves. All Rights Reserved.
  • Shop
  • About
  • Shipping Policies
  • Subscribe
  • Gift Guide
  • Blog