Joyce Chen (Oigen) Year of the Monkey tetsu kyusu

This Oigen tetsu kyusu is 5.5" (14 cm) in diameter x 4" (10 cm) high, minus lid, handle and spout. It weighs 3 lbs (1.4 kg) and holds 24 ounces (.7 L) of water. The marked strainer survives. It was made by Oigen for Joyce Chen and also for Teavana.

The Joyce Chen version went through at least three iterations. First, marked only with the Oigen mark under the spout with a Joyce Chen label. Second, Oigen mark under the spout and marked "JOYCE CHEN" in the mold on the bottom. Third, marked only "JOYCE CHEN" in the mold under the spout like this one. The Tevana versions had both the Oigen mark and the Teavana mark. Tevana, generally did not have the maker marks eliminated on their products. Oigen was one of the first Japanese foundries to export tetsu kyusu worldwide.

This is one of the few "Year of the ...." kyusu distributed by Chen that I really like. I have been looking for one for awhile but many sellers ask really unreasonable prices for them, even if they are in poor condition. This one has some wear to the bottom and also a scuff to the "JOYCE CHEN" mark, but is otherwise near mint, though it has obviously been used a bit.

It popped up on an on line auction site for just a couple of dollars over my Mr. Scrooge total for cost, tax and shipping, so even though I was basically done for the month with kyusu purchases, it was too good a deal to let pass by. It was only listed for a couple of hours with "Best Offer" and "Starting Bid" options and my offer was one cent over the starting bid option and was accepted. Yay!