ABOUT COLLECTORPOTS
A Considered Path to Chinese Handmade Pots
CollectorPots is an independent platform for appreciating, discussing, and collecting Chinese handmade pots. It brings together selected work from our own studio, established kilns, artists’ studios, and other specialist channels across China.
Why CollectorPots Exists
Remarkable Chinese handmade pots are not always easy to discover outside China with clear photographs, measurements, and reliable context. Many works remain spread across studios, kilns, specialist sales channels, and live auctions, making them difficult for collectors elsewhere to find and consider.
CollectorPots was created to offer a more considered path through that abundance—and a place where people can look closely, learn, and exchange ideas about pots. We do not aim to build the largest catalogue or add new pieces as quickly as possible. Instead, we examine many works and select a smaller number that we believe deserve closer attention.
Some are made for bonsai. Others may be appreciated as ceramic objects in their own right. What connects them is not a particular trend or price point, but the relationship between form, surface, craftsmanship, and character.
How We Select
Our collection includes work made in our own studio as well as pieces discovered through Chinese pottery studios, established kilns, artists’ studios, specialist sellers, sourcing channels, and auction livestreams that our family has come to know over time.
Whether made in our own studio or selected from elsewhere, each piece is considered as a whole. We begin with form and proportion: the relationship between the rim, body, foot, depth, and overall silhouette. We also consider glaze, decoration, craftsmanship, surface detail, firing effects, and the presence of the finished work.
Not every piece we encounter becomes part of CollectorPots. Selection is not a claim that one tradition, kiln, or style is universally better than another. It is our judgment about which individual works deserve a place within this collection.
How We Document
Selection is only the beginning. Before a piece is listed, we inspect the physical work and create a record of the specific object in front of us.
For each selected piece, we aim to:
- inspect its physical condition;
- photograph the front, sides, interior, base, and relevant details;
- record its dimensions;
- describe visible handwork, firing traces, variations, and condition; and
- assign an individual CollectorPots reference number.
Selected pieces may include accompanying documentation. Where a CollectorPots documentation certificate is provided, it records the photographs, measurements, observations, and information available to us for that individual piece.
Some works may also include documentation supplied by the maker, studio, kiln, or original seller. The exact documentation included is stated on the individual product page.
A CollectorPots documentation certificate is not an independent third-party certificate of authenticity. We do not make claims about a maker, studio, kiln, origin, or date unless reliable supporting information is available.
Handmade pottery naturally carries variation. Brushwork, glaze movement, firing traces, and small differences in the surface may form part of the work’s character. We aim to photograph and describe these details clearly, including any visible condition issues that may matter to a collector.
A Family Beginning
CollectorPots grew from our family’s years of practical experience with Chinese pots. Over time, my father developed knowledge of the objects themselves, the people who collect them, and the realities of presenting and shipping ceramic works internationally. That experience also led to our own studio practice and to ongoing relationships with makers, studios, and kilns across China.
CollectorPots builds on that experience as a quieter, more curated independent brand and a place for continued learning and exchange.
We study and share the pieces we collect, connect with fellow pot enthusiasts, and organize small gatherings centered on the appreciation of pots and ceramic art.
Rather than presenting a grand story of inheritance or authority, CollectorPots focuses on the works themselves. Its purpose is to give individual pieces the careful selection, documentation, and presentation they deserve—and to make them easier for collectors beyond China to discover.
Each Piece on Its Own Terms
We hope each work is encountered not simply as a container, but as an object with its own proportion, surface, craftsmanship, and character.