Iwachu cast iron teapot/kettle nabeshiki (trivet)

This Iwachu cast iron trivet is 5.5" in diameter and about .5" high and has the Iwachu mark on the bottom. It weighs about 11.7 ounces. It came in its original box with a bit of documentation. It is new old stock from a seller who had several trivets. Two of them were the standard black hobnail variety and two were brown and had floral designs. The black hobnail trivets best match my tea sets, but I just liked the brown ones better as I think they are more interesting. I bought one of them and about a week later went back and bought the other one after doing quite a bit of searching and not finding anything else similar by Iwachu. The black hobnail trivets seem to comprise the overwhelming majority of trivets produced by Iwachu. I have not received the second brown one, yet. This one is kettle size, and second one is smaller, about 4" in diameter and teapot size. I will do a post for it when I receive it. No idea how old these are but guessing circa 1990-2010 as the packaging has the current Iwachu mark.

http://www.niasia.com.sg/brands/iwachu.html

"For over a hundred years, Iwachu, located in Morioka Prefecture, Japan, has been one of the most well known and respected manufacturers of modern Nanbu ironware. Today, craftsmen at Iwachu pay respect to this tradition by infusing each Iwachu product with precision handcraftsmanship throughout the manufacturing process. Iwachu's tetsubin (iron tea pots) and cookware have earned a well deserved worldwide reputation for their superior quality, beauty, and lasting durability.

The production process of making Tetsubin usually consists of 64 to 68 steps. At Iwachu, most of this process is still done by hand and quality is strictly maintained and controlled by a master craftsman known as a "kamashi". It requires at least 15 years to become a full-fledged craftsman, and 30-40 years to become a "kamashi"."