AN INSCRIBED YIXING STONEWARE 'PRUNUS' 'STONE DIPPER' TEAPOT AND COVERBY YANG PENGNIAN, INCISED BY QIAO ZHONGXI, QING DYNASTY, DAOGUANG PERIOD, DATED TO THE JIACHEN YEAR (IN ACCORDANCE WITH 1844)

superbly potted resting on three stump feet protruding from the base, the slanted sides tapering towards the mouth, applied with a handle opposite a short straight spout, incised with decorations of a flowering prunus branch extending onto the cover, the reverse with a poetic inscription, dated to the 9th month of the jiachen year (1844), signed Daoren, the base with an impressed mark in the shape of a double-gourd enclosing the name of the teapot ji hu ('auspicious vessel'), signed by the artist at the base of the handle with a seal impression reading Pengnian and under the lid, Yiyuan

Sydney L. Moss Ltd., London, December 2001.

The tip of the teapot's spout has been slightly retouched. The teapot is otherwise in overall good condition except for slight fritting to the mouthrim and an original firing line around one foot. The cover has two retouched areas of approx. 1.5 and 0.5 cm to the interior rim, in addition to further slight retouching to the underside of the outer rim.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Yixing teapots made in collaboration between the master potter Yang Pengnian and Qiao Zhongxi encapsulate the greatest achievements of the literati art approach to teapot making, superbly demonstrating the skills of the potter in achieving harmony of form in the teapot, combined with exquisite calligraphic inscriptions and incised designs. They are also extremely rare. Another teapot of this classic ‘stone-dipper’ (shipiao) form, also made in collaboration between Yang Pengnian and Qiao Zhongshi, from the Bei Shang Tang collection, is illustrated in Li Jingkang and Zhang Hong, A Pictorial Study of the Teapots of Yangxian, Hong Kong, 1937, p. 37, and was also included in the exhibition The Bei Shan Tang Legacy. Yixing Zisha Stoneware, Art Museum, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 2015, cat. no. 32. It is extremely close in size, form and design, with three identical seals, differing only in the composition of the flowering prunus.

For a closely related teapot sold at auction, compare one by Yang Pengnian, but incised by Qu Yingshao, sold at Bonhams Hong Kong, 24th November 2013, lot 103, from the collection of Mr and Mrs Jimmy Sha. It shares the same classic form and is similarly impressed with a double-gourd ‘Jihu’ seal mark on the base, but incised with bamboo.

Qiao Zhongxi was a scholar and native of Shanghai active during the Jiaqing and Daoguan reigns, famous as a connoiosseur of calligraphy. Like his close counterpart Qu Yingshao, he is known for commissioning teapots by Yixing master potters, including Yang Pengnian.