AN INSCRIBED YIXING STONEWARE 'BAMBOO' STONE-DIPPER TEAPOT AND COVER SIGNED ZIYE, QING DYNASTY, DAOGUANG PERIOD, DATED DINGWEI YEAR, CORRESPONDING TO 1847

of Ziye-form, superbly potted with the sloping sides rising from three flattened circular feet, set with a short spout opposite an angled handle, elegantly carved through the red clay to a golden-speckled ground with a design of leafy bamboo extending onto the flattened cover set with a loop knop, accompanied by a calligraphic inscription translating to 'preceded by (a painting of) Gui Wenxiu - when an isolated branch meets the wind and rain, made under the bamboo window in the middle of rain in the 8th month of the dingwei year', followed by a two-character signature reading Ziye, incised to one foot with a xin (heart) character, the base impressed with a square seal reading shihu zifan, together with another seal under the handle reading Ji'an (2)

There is a consolidated traveling crack from the rim all the way down the side of the teapot and the consolidation has darkened, as illustrated. The rim has additional fine hairline cracks, minute flakes, and possible consolidation. The cover has two small chips.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

The two-character signature Ziye on the present teapot is the zi of Qu Yingshao (1780-1849). Qu Yingshao, hao Yuehu, Qufu, Laoye, a native of Songjiang, Shanghai, active in the Jiaqing and Daoguang periods, excelled at seal carving, appraising antiques, and painting bamboo. He was particularly successful in utilizing Yixing teapots as a medium for expressing calligraphy and incised designs derived from painting. By incorporating the greatest achievements of literati art into his approach to teapot-making, he superbly demonstrated the skills of the potter in achieving harmony of form. Qu often worked with other artists or potters in the making of a teapot. Evidence for this can be found in Li Jingkang and Zhang Hong, A Pictorial Study of the Teapots of Yangxian, Hong Kong, 1937, where the author discusses how Qu typically designed the teapots, commissioned their manufacture, and then decorated them with his friend and fellow seal carver Deng Gui, ‘Teapots of good quality Qu Yingshao would personally inscribe and decorate with carved bamboo or prunus.'

The shape of the present teapot is referred to as shipiao (stone-dipper) in Chinese. In traditional Yixing connoisseurship, this classic shape is also commonly known as Ziye-form, after Qu Yinshao who innovated this iconic form. The versatile form, with its extended flat surface space, was perfectly proportioned for the carefully positioned engraved calligraphy and painting. Another teapot of this form, made in collaboration with Qiao Zhongxi, formerly in Zhang Hong’s Bishan Huguang Collection and now preserved in the Bei Shan Tang collection, illustrated in Li Jingkang and Zhang Hong, A Pictorial Study of the Teapots of Yangxian, Hong Kong, 1937, p. 37, was 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. 28. A teapot made by Shen Xi and inscribed by Qu, is illustrated in K.S. Lo, The Stoneware of Yixing from the Ming Period to the Present Day, London, 1986, pl. 38, together with one made by Yang Pengnian and incised by Qu, pl. 39; see a further teapot made by the two together, published in Liang Baiquan, Yixing Purple Clay Ware, Beijing and Hong Kong, 1991, pl. 63; as well as another example, from the collection of Mr. and Mrs. Jimmy Sha, sold at Bonhams Hong Kong, 24th November 2013, lot 103.

Compare also a ‘stone-dipper’ teapot by Qu Yingshao from the Collection of the Art Institute of Chicago, similarly incised with bamboo and calligraphy, illustrated in Terese Tse Bartholomew, I-Hsing Ware, China House Gallery, China Institute of America, New York, 1977, cat. no. 19; and a closely related teapot incised by Qu Yingshao with bamboo and willow, from the collection of Max Robertson, exhibited in Documentary Chinese Works of Art. In Scholar’s Taste, Sydney L. Moss Ltd., London, 1983, cat. no. 91. Another teapot bearing the Ziye signature, but of a different shape, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, is illustrated in Wang Jianhua, ed., Yixing Zisha Wares in the Palace Museum, Beijing, 2009, pl. 64.  

For other Qu Yingshao teapots, see a similar example from the collection of Paul Moss, sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 1st June 2017, lot 511; and one of a different shape, formerly in the collections of Pang Yuanji and Thomas Lee, and later in the collections of the Water, Pine and Stone Retreat, was sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 2nd June 2016, lot 31; and another was sold in our Paris rooms, 15th December 2016, lot 173. A further 'stone-dipper' teapot, from the George and Mary Bloch Collection was included in the exhibitions Yixing Pottery, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1981, cat. no. 62, and Arts from the Scholar's Studio, Hong Kong, 1986, cat. no. 107, and was sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 23rd October 2005, lot 135.

The inscription of the present teapot suggests that the carved bamboo design was inspired by the painting of Gui Wenxiu. Gui Changshi (1573-1644), zi Wenxiu, hao Jiaan, a native of Kunshan, Jiangsu province, was a painter, calligrapher, poet, and seal carver of the Ming dynasty. He was a master in bamboo painting and renowned for depicting bamboo in the wind and rain.