What is the general price of Tenmoku? Let's analyze it in three steps

Actually, many Tenmoku enthusiasts are still unclear about one thing: what is the general price range of Tenmoku?

In fact, normally the price range of Tenmoku is from tens of yuan to tens of thousands of yuan. This range is similar to that of most intangible cultural heritage products, and behind the price of each Tenmoku, there is a story.

First of all, it should be noted that regardless of the price of Tenmoku, they are all fired based on a very low yield rate. No craftsman can fully control the quality of the products, and at least half of the reason is due to natural randomness.

1. The relationship between the price of Tenmoku and the craftsman's professional title.

        In many intangible cultural heritage industries, the professional title of a craftsman is an important factor that determines the price of their products, but this is not entirely the case for Tenmoku.

       Firstly, because the firing process of Tenmoku is relatively short, the yield rate is very low, and the price is high. As a result, it has only circulated among a certain class of people and has not been widely recognized by the public. For a long time, it has not received much attention. In the early days, most craftsmen worked under very harsh conditions, struggling to make a living. Only in recent years has Tenmoku begun to flourish, and the professional title evaluation work has slowly started.

        Secondly, the price of Tenmoku depends on the quality of each individual product, and the professional title of the craftsman cannot fully reflect the quality of each individual product. The reputation of the master only accounts for a small part of the price of each product.

2．The basic price system of Tenmoku.

According to the current pricing rules of Tenmoku craftsmen, there are basically three categories:

The first category is that for Tenmoku of the same caliber and the same category (such as Huangtu Hao and Yintu Hao), the price is generally uniform. The larger the caliber, the higher the price, and this is currently the most common pricing rule.

 This is because each craftsman has their own unique glaze and firing technique, so even works from the same craftsman are not exactly the same. The difference in reputation of the artist can also lead to significant price fluctuations, ranging from a few hundred to several thousand yuan, or even tens or hundreds of thousands of yuan.

         The second category is that for Tenmoku of the same caliber and the same category, the pricing varies based on the quality of the product.

        The third category is for rare Tenmoku with complex craftsmanship.

        We need to assess the rarity of this particular Tenmoku, as well as whether or not it has any flaws, among other factors.

This is very important. Even for Tenmoku made by the same artist, they can be classified into different grades, and the prices can vary significantly.

In simple terms, the prices of the same caliber Tenmoku made by the same artist can differ significantly between high-quality products and ordinary ones.

3. The relationship between quality and price.

        Since pricing is based on the quality, what makes a high-quality Tenmoku more expensive? For Tenmoku of the same caliber and height,

        It mainly depends on the following aspects of quality:

1. The product has no obvious defects (although no Tenmoku is completely flawless), no obvious deformations, no obvious pinholes, no obvious glaze accumulation, no glaze bursts, no glaze shrinkage, etc.

• The effect of the patterns on the glaze, which is the most decisive factor.

        What kind of patterns are considered good? We need to look at four aspects:

• The overall shape of the patterns, which reflects the beauty.
• The distribution of the patterns, which should be neither too dense nor too sparse, and evenly distributed on the surface of the Tenmoku.
• The texture of the patterns, which should have a metallic feel. The formation mechanism of the patterns on oil-spot glaze Tenmoku involves the reduction of trivalent iron to divalent iron in the later stage of firing under an oxygen-deficient environment. Within a short period of time, the crystallized divalent iron aggregates together to form patterns. Therefore, the texture of the patterns should have a metallic feel, especially when observed under high magnification.
• The iridescent effect of the patterns.                                                                                                 
  

The patterns on oil-spot glaze Tenmoku will reflect various colors, such as rainbow, gold, silver, blue, etc., under different lighting conditions, such as sunlight, ordinary light, flashlight, etc., due to the different refractive indices of the glaze. This creates a magical iridescent effect.

Based on the above four points, we can generally determine the price of a Tenmoku.