Joyce Chen gingko leaves design testsu kyusu

This tetsu kyusu is 5" in diameter x 3.5" high, minus spout and handle. It weighs 3 lbs 8 ounces and holds 16 ounces of water. It is marked "JOYCE CHEN" in the mold, but I am pretty sure it was made by Oigen, as were most of Chen's pots. The exterior finish was intentionally rusted. Gingko leaves symbolize longevity and endurance. Thanks to jscott0363 for identifying the design. It is missing its infuser and has rust around the rim probably caused because the infuser was stored on the pot when it was still wet. Guessing the infuser was rusted which is why it was probably discarded. Interior is in fine shape, though, as is the majority of the external finish. My images don't quite do the surface finish justice. I may try again, someday.

This pot was one of my earliest acquisitions, but, because it has no Japanese maker's mark, no infuser and some unexpected rust, I was not very happy with it so never posted it to CW. The seller's images were poor and this was before I realized that Chen started having the Japanese foundry mark replaced with their branding, so it was a cheap gamble which did not turn out as well as I had hoped.

Slowing down my kyusu collecting and moving toward only acquiring pots made by foundries not represented in my current collection. There are a few designs by Iwachu and Oigen that I may still add if I find really good deals on them, though.