Mame/Shohin Drum Pot

[Tidal Bonsai]

Anyone have a similar drum pot like this for a mame/shohin bonsai. If so, I am interested in buying.

 

[Tidal Bonsai]

I can not seem to find anything on the internet in the aproximately 3 inch size, like this one.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Search "Bigei" on eBay. That's likely the potter of the one in your photo.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/391754016377
http://www.ebay.com/itm/122496991794
http://www.ebay.com/itm/161356214225

 

[Tidal Bonsai]

Thanks for finding this, but that is way to rich for my blood. I will find something else for the tree I have in mind.

 

[Bonsai Nut]

Bonsai Vision has some decent Yixing shohin pots...

 

[Tidal Bonsai]

That is much more like it, thanks!

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Obviously, your budget is your own business, but I'd rather have one of quality than two cheapos every time...and to be honest, that Bigei is priced better (cost for quality) than those Yixing pots.

 

[Tidal Bonsai]

I am admittedly very new to bonsai, but there is one thing that I can not seem to wrap my brain around. As a gardener, simple terracotta pots are less than a dollar in the 3 inch size, and even very nice glazed and decorative pots are no more than $5-$10. How can a pot that is $33 be a "cheapo." A dirt cheap pot from a big box store will last decades as long as they are not smashed on the floor. I do not seem to get how these bonsai pots are priced the way that they are? I may be opening a can of worms, but I just wanted to know from more experienced bonsai enthusiasts why bonsai pots are so much more expensive?

 

[0soyoung]

Cheap ole terracotta pots will disintegrate in 3 or 4 years outside; faster in hard freezing climates. They are made by pouring a slip into a mold and roasting them over a camp fire (I joke, but the firing temp is low). Pots fired at cone 10 (something like 1200F) will be durable outside, but the firing is much more expensive.

The other ways of making pots are by hand on a wheel and by assembling slabs of clay - lots of labor time.

Then there is also the quality and color of the clay as well as glazing (which requires another trip through the kiln), and the skills and artistry of the potter that adjusts the cost of the pot.

I think you can take it from here.

 

[Tidal Bonsai]

Ok, that makes more sense.

 

[just.wing.it]

Making bonsai pots is an art in itself.
Machines stamp out terracotta pots by the thousands.
Bonsai pots are "freeze fired" so they can handle very cold temps with no problem.
Terracotta crumbles relatively quickly.

 

[Tidal Bonsai]

I absolutely appreciate the craftsmanship/artistry of bigei (Its what caught my eye and started this thread in the first place ). Also, I definitely believe that this experience/artistry has value. However, the Yixing pots seem to be well made to the less informed, and are described as being "high quality." Is this false advertisement? Does the obsorption property described cause them to crack in cold climates like NJ? Thanks for the info!

https://www.bonsaioutlet.com/bonsai-articles/yixing-clay-crafting-an-amazing-bonsai-pot/

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

I am admittedly very new to bonsai, but there is one thing that I can not seem to wrap my brain around. As a gardener, simple terracotta pots are less than a dollar in the 3 inch size, and even very nice glazed and decorative pots are no more than $5-$10. How can a pot that is $33 be a "cheapo." A dirt cheap pot from a big box store will last decades as long as they are not smashed on the floor. I do not seem to get how these bonsai pots are priced the way that they are? I may be opening a can of worms, but I just wanted to know from more experienced bonsai enthusiasts why bonsai pots are so much more expensive?

Because bonsai is more than gardening in terra cotta pots. Containers are an important component to the art of bonsai.

You asked where to find a similar pot in a photo of a tree in a show, and I took you straight to the source. Yes, you can show nice trees in cheap pots up to a degree, and of course, grow them in cheap pots all you want in your garden.

Also, everything is relative, and even the $85 Bigei is inexpensive compared to some of the master potters out there. Pots are collectible as art themselves, like vases. Do you need to collect pots as works of art? No, but some do enjoy it, and appreciate nice pots. Do you need a Waterford vase for your prized English Roses? No, but the whole composition would show nicer than using a milk jar.

This critique is interesting because Kathy Shaner comments on the quality of the pot here starting at about 1:20. Maybe this will provide some perspective. And remember, this is an art form, where age, form, scale, and shape all need to play together to create the best effect. Not everyone practices at the same level, that's cool. Some of us are obsessed...

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

Some 30 years ago when I was just dabbling with bonsai, I felt as you, could not get my head around paying over $5 for a pot. Then in the early 1990s I stumbled into a bonsai shop, Kokoroki, no longer in business. Was actually able to touch, feel, hold a top quality, signature pot. It was only 9 x 5 inch oval, less than an inch deep - I ended up paying over $100 for it back then, and I was hooked. I still have the pot, never did find name of maker, as I don't read Japanese. I still have not put a tree in it, as none of mine are both the right size and high quality enough that it will match the pot. It's on a shelf I can see and touch it as I walk by.

Now I have maybe a dozen high end Japanese pots, a couple of them are true antiques, several dozen medium high quality pots, some Japanese, some Chinese, high end YiXing is quite good. And another couple dozen well made pots by American and other artists. Some favorites are from artists I know well enough to have had a meal or a beer with.

So collecting pots can be a hobby unto itself. Most of my trees are in pots worth more $$ than the tree. This is not unusual.

If you don't break them, pots often outlive the trees they were initially used for. Trees die, pots don't, most good pots get better with age, they develop patina.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

So spring for one Bigei, once you have it in your hands, you'll be hooked on quality pots.

 

[Tidal Bonsai]

Very good points, and very well put Brian and Leo!