随着国家的繁荣昌盛、人民生活水平的不断提高，民间收藏热潮也在不断升温，收藏世界之博大精深。今天，我们暂时还不能放开收藏领域去探讨其博、大、精、深，我们单就宜兴紫砂艺壶的收藏话题，与大家共同探讨“宜兴紫砂艺壶的收藏”。改革开放以来，热爱中华民族文化、喜欢收藏民族文化的朋友越来越多，民间收藏可说是一股全民“收藏热”，在这股热潮中出现了鱼目混珠、泥沙俱下的事亦接踵而来，说白了就是防“赝品充塞”。收藏是门学问，不论你是一个初入道的人还是老于此道的人，都稍有疏忽就会被赝品蒙骗过去。其中，我们要谈谈如何识别紫砂艺壶的旧壶、古壶和名人名作，从我一个从业人员的角度来说，可以分以下几点：
首先，要了解一点紫砂陶的发展史，紫砂壶艺自明代开始：1. 草创期：自北宋至明代陶缸瓮者和寺僧为草创期，其理由是①宜兴丁山里蠡山里强园羊角山古窑址发现残片看与宋代风格相似提供了实物佐证；②元末蔡司沾《园话》记载：“余于白下获一紫砂罐”，上有：“且吃茶清隐”草书五字，此罐为孙高士孙道明遗物，这说明元朝已发现有紫沙壶出现。
并要了解那个时候原料（矿土）、成型工艺、陶刻烧成工艺特点。以前至1957年前，紫沙烧成工艺都为龙窖烧成燃料为茅草（属碱性燃料）。1958年采用倒焰窖烧成（圆形倒焰窖），燃料为煤。1969年采用隧道窖烧成（燃料为煤），后又改进为油烧烧成工艺。因此不同的生产工艺使得每个作品之间存有不同的内在，这给我们提供了分辨依据。
第二原料：Purple sand is a kind of non-glazed pottery that is made by firing at high temperature in a kiln, it has different colors such as purple, red, yellow, brown and orange. The purple clay mineral soil used to make Purple sand artifacts has various layers of sedimentary structure: floating soil, mud, middle-layer mud, segment mud and bottom-layer mud. The deeper the layering of the mineral soil, the better quality it will be after firing with more vivid colors known as "water color". Middle-layer mud produces reddish-brown color when fired while segment mud results in light yellow called "milk tea" due to its tendency to stain easily.
Thirdly doings (i.e., shaping techniques): Old works have most parts produced without molds; hand-made techniques are mostly used; famous artists' works all have personal styles and ways of making them. We generally identify round teapots based on the interface marks between pieces and threads.
Lastly understanding some folktales about collecting: 1) reading books related to this field; 2) visiting museums and exhibitions to familiarize yourself with authors' styles; 3) understanding or researching an author's personality style: their typical creations or features they specialize in.
In conclusion, collecting Yixing Purple Sand Art Teapots is like investing money - you want your investment to appreciate in value over time. It's not just about buying something pretty but also about preserving cultural heritage for future generations.
