small cracks in Yixing teapots

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I poured hot water into my trusty Yixing pot the otherday and heard a fizzing. I looked and listened inside the pot and saw a stream of mini bubbles streaming from one end of a fine fissure/crack inside the pot.

Is this normal /acceptable?

The pot is not very cheap but also nothing by a master.

I suppose it should be ok, but then there may be an expert out there that will tell me a different story

thanks

-- simon mcdoanld (syburn@singnet.com.sg), July 14, 2003

Answers

Dear Simon,

I'm new to this forum. My name is Eric and I'm from Malaysia.

I'm no master but let me try to answer your question. The mini bubbles streaming out form your teapot is normal. The Yixing clay is pourous and it 'breathes' everytime you pour water into it. You don't usually see it because you most likely have tea leaves in it.

As for the crack, you can try pouring cold or tap water into it and try rubbing (softly) the outer surface of your teapot where the hairline crack is located inside. It water seeps through, then you have a cracked teapot. But if it remains dry, the crack is most likely there when they heated the teapot in the kiln. It's a manufacturing defact. You can find such cracks and they are pretty common. Do you have a picture of your teapot showing the crack?

i hope this helps.

Regards,

Eric.

-- Eric S. Y. Lim (ericlsy@pc.jaring.my), December 01, 2003.


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