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Lot Essay
Among the many Chinese collecting categories, Yixing teapots can be considered one of the most popular during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Located in the province of Jiangsu, west of Lake Tai, the affluent Yixing has long been enjoyed a great deal of prosperity. The economic development went hand in hand with the elegant tastes of the literati, and the delicate handicraft in the south of the Yangtze River reached a high degree of refinement.
The clay of Yixing is known collectively as zisha (purple sand). Yixing teapots have been made since the 16th century, and there has been a steady stream of recognized potters since the Wanli period (1573–1619). The rustic elegance of the teapot has been long sought after by tea drinkers and literati, regarding these wares as highly as jade.
There are only two other known Qianlong examples of carved cinnabar lacquer decorated on a Yixing body, both of which are in the National Palace Museum, collection number: guci-009423N and guci-009424N (fig. 1). Also compare with a similarly decorated Qianlong Yixing teapot sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 1 December 2010, lot 3097.
A Ming teapot of this type, possibly the prototype, from the Palace Museum Collection, bearing the maker’s name, Shi Dabin, is illustrated in Zhongguo Meishu Quanji, Lacquer, vol.8, no.136 (fig. 2).
The clay of Yixing is known collectively as zisha (purple sand). Yixing teapots have been made since the 16th century, and there has been a steady stream of recognized potters since the Wanli period (1573–1619). The rustic elegance of the teapot has been long sought after by tea drinkers and literati, regarding these wares as highly as jade.
There are only two other known Qianlong examples of carved cinnabar lacquer decorated on a Yixing body, both of which are in the National Palace Museum, collection number: guci-009423N and guci-009424N (fig. 1). Also compare with a similarly decorated Qianlong Yixing teapot sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 1 December 2010, lot 3097.
A Ming teapot of this type, possibly the prototype, from the Palace Museum Collection, bearing the maker’s name, Shi Dabin, is illustrated in Zhongguo Meishu Quanji, Lacquer, vol.8, no.136 (fig. 2).