Fengyin's pear skin teapot

Shu Fenfyin, a senior craftmaster of Yixing, made a small teapot with an overhead handle. The Teapot has a shape of a small pear with poker dots of yellow clay decorating the body work. The clay used is a type of purplish clay with a slight tint of red.

The name engraved on the cover of the pot is Fengyin. As there many potters with the name of Fengyin, a good guest if Shu Fengyin as the teapot was acquired quite sometime ago. The other potters with the name Fengyin are younger in age.

 

Fengyin's cute pot with overhead handle

束凤英，高级工艺美术师。1940年生于江苏宜兴。1955年进宜兴紫砂工艺厂，师从名艺人裴石民、顾景舟学艺。1982年作品《十二件什壶》获轻工部陶瓷美术评比二等奖。1987年《翻盖柿子壶》选定在中南海紫光阁陈设。

Yun Yuping's (恽益萍) zhisa

Yun Yuping, a crsftsmaster of Yixing, joined the Zisha factory in 1972 as as apprentice. Her tutor was He Daohong who is currently a national grand master. With proper guidance from He and her own handwork, she acquired the skills and art of Yixing pottery. She dares to innovate and her works are refined and meticulously executed.
Alans Museum has a teapot by Yun made in the early years. The teapot was also featured in a publication released in the 1980s. The teapot is made of pure Yclay. Due to many years of usage, it develops a glossy appearance.


Yun Yuping's teapot

 

Pictures taken from magazine

 

恽益萍:工艺美术师1954年出生,1972年进宜兴紫砂工艺厂,从师何道洪,开始紫砂工艺生涯.在艺师的精心授艺下,经勤学苦练,今已能 独当一面,制茗壶.近年参加厂部中级培训班和中央工艺美院陶瓷造型培训班学习,知识面又有拓宽.创作新品日趋成熟, 制作线型精细周到,添加松,竹,梅布局均衡,耐人寻味。

Jiang Soonyin's zhisa

Jiang Soonyin is a craftsmaster of Yixing.

Alans Museum had in the past acquired quite a number of her teapots. Here is one teapot by Jiang which was made using the yellow clay. This clay is currently in short supply and not many teapots have are made using this type of clay. Jiang's teapot was probably made in the 1980s. It has the classic round shape and its not very tall, ideal for brewing green tea.

Jiang's zhisa

Yuting's (友廷) bell shaped teapot

Shao Yuting (邵友廷) was a famous potter who was active during the late 19th century.

Alans Museum has a teapot made by Yuting in its collection. This teapot has the shape of an ancient bell. It was authenticated by Prof Pan when he was in Singapore holding his solo exhibition of Yixing teapots and promoting his masterpieces. The teapot is purplish brown in colour and Prof commented that the clay used for this teapot is of high quality pure zisha clay.

Shao Yuting's bell shaped teapot        

             姓名：邵友庭

          性别：男

          生于：清道光至同治年

          简介：清咸丰年间紫砂大师.程寿珍养父.作品粗犷而显其韵.

邵友廷，清道光至同治年间宜兴上袁村人，他精工壶艺，尤其善于制作鹅蛋壶和掇球壶。邵友廷成名于邵大亨之后，是近代制壶名家程寿珍的养父。他制作的紫砂壶大多工整、规矩，其制作的器物，大多盖有“友廷”两字的椭圆形阳文印，是清末的制壶名家。

 

Feng Qinfang's (冯勤芳) beauty

Feng Qinfang, grand daughter of Feng Kweilin (a famous potter of the 1950s), is a gifted craftsmaster noted for her imitation of natural things such as bamboo, pine trees and flowers. She is also good at crafting teapots of all shapes from round to square and tall to short. With hard work and perseverance and under proper tutorship from different masters, she stands out among her peers in terms of skills and techniques. Truly a successor of her grand father, Feng Kweilin.

Alans Museum keeps a teapot made by Feng made in the early years. This is a short teapot that looks elegant and solid in design. Brownish in colour, the teapot is ideal for brewing all types of tea. The word 冯勤芳 was engraved at the bottom of the teapot.

 

Feng Qinfang's work

姓名：冯勤芳
性别：女
职称：工艺美术师
出生年月：1968-9     

Feng Qinfang

冯桂林之孙女.桂林先生（1902～1946），紫砂名家，擅长松竹梅题材及仿真自然塑器。其制品或圆或方、或长或短、或高域矮、或深沉肃穆，给人以“千奇万状信手出、鬼斧神工难类同”之感，为紫砂历史上不可多得的名师艺匠之一。民间工艺讲究传承，尤其是家传，应该说冯勤芳做壶有了得天独厚的传承优势，成了真正意义上的“桂林传人”，加上她勤奋好学，能吃苦耐劳，在当时这样一种良好的氛围中，又遇到了名师，以致冯勤芳很快在同道中脱颖而出，现在来看她的作品，似乎有桂林遗风，无论是光货还是花货，韵味十足，传统的根植得很牢，在她们这个年龄段的做壶人中，应该说是个佼佼者。随其夫低调做人不张扬，认真做壶不“搭浆”（为宜兴方言，意思是做事将就、马虎）,成为真正意义上的”桂林传人”.

Fang Yulan's (房玉兰) round teapot

Fan Yulan, a talented potter born in 1974. She is currently a senior craftsmaster of Yixing. She is skillful at handy work and involved actively in design and crafting of teapots. With guidance from other masters at the factory, her skills advance tremendously. She is also good at crafting square teapots and her artistic works often won her numerous awards both locally and overseas.

Alans Museum has a teapot made by Fand in the early 80s, probably at the time she was still a technical worker at the factory receiving training. This teapot is round in shape and purplish brown in colour. The size is medium small, ideal for brewing green tea due to its broad base.

 

Fang Yulan's round teapot

房玉兰 紫砂

女、1961年5月生，高级工艺美术师。1977年先后随曹婉芬、吴同芬学艺，后又随紫砂艺术大师国家工艺美术大师徐汉棠老师创作设计，由于自幼酷爱陶艺，专心好学，技艺进步较快，深得老师领导的好评。1987年被选送中央工艺学院陶瓷系进修，从而系统地领悟到紫砂传统工艺美术的内涵，工艺水平日趋成熟，形成独特的风格，在传统中力求变化，选型构思新颖，做工俊秀细腻，作品屡次在国内外名人名作展上获金奖。

职称、职务: 宜兴紫砂工艺二厂工艺美术师

作品《仿古》、《掇只》在2002年马来西亚国际名人名作展上获金奖。代表作《北瓜壶》、《天乐辟邪》、《恒源》等被博物馆收藏，并与上海书画家朱屺瞻、唐云、刘旦宅、谢稚柳、程十发、陈佩秋、关良等合作，深受国内外客商的喜爱及收藏。

Zhou Juefang's (周菊芳) grobular teapot

Zhou Juefang, Prof Pan Chun Fang's student, is currently a craftsmaster of Yixing. Apart from acquiring her skills and techniques from Prof Pan and his wife, Xu Chenquen, she develops her own style and technique and continue to look for breakthrough in designs of teapot. Together with her husband, they are famous for a series of teapots depicting the great earth. These teapots are made using the potter's wheel method and are award winning masterpieces. Some of her teapots are bought by museums and party headquarter for permanent display.

Alans Museum has a piece of her work acquired in the 1990s. It has a huge around shape very appealing to the appreciating eyes. One will marvel at the roundness of the body which blends well with the cover, knob, sprout and the handle. When making tea, the teapot rests comfortably in the palm of your hand. It is really majestic for its size and a prize piece to possess.



 

周菊芳
性别：女
证书编号：320223670816158
类别:工艺美术师 

高级工艺美术师 入编《世界名人传记》 世界名人陶瓷艺术研究会高级陶艺师 生于陶都宜兴，自幼热爱紫砂艺术，后得紫砂名家潘春芳、许成权夫妇收为关门弟子，尽得其传，又得大师何道洪指点。1990年考入南京艺术学院主修陶瓷专业，毕业后入中国宜兴陶瓷博物馆潜心研究历代紫砂名作，从传统入手，探索现代紫砂艺术的发展，形成了个人独特的作品风格。又入紫砂工艺一厂研究所。光货作品功力深厚、线条流畅、气韵生动；花货作品构思秀丽、创作思路广泛、表现手法新颖、作品刻划细腻、动静有序、追求整体的和谐永隽，1999年作品《大南瓜》被无锡市博物馆永久收藏。2000年加入江苏省工艺美术学会，作品《金秋南瓜》刊于《跨世纪知名陶艺家》集并获中国工艺美术“华艺杯”铜奖；作品《秋柿》获第二届中国工艺美术大师精品展金奖。2001年作品《月色葫芦》获第 三届中国工艺美术大师精品展金奖；作品《树樱壶》刊于《陶魂》；作品《潇湘清影》刊于《紫泥新韵》。2002年入中国工艺美术学会，获第七届全国陶瓷评比优秀奖；作品《奥运之星》获第四届中国工艺美术大师精品展创新艺术金奖，同年受邀为特约嘉宾在唐山第五届陶博会现场演示紫砂壶制作。2003年受邀为特约嘉宾参加广东佛山第三届传统陶艺节。与管唯皓合作紫砂手拉《大地系列》壶获国家发明专利并获首届中国陶瓷艺术展“中陶杯”金奖，作品《圣桃提梁》获银奖。2005年作品《圣桃提梁》由国务院中南海紫光阁陈列并永久收藏。2007年中国广州国际茶具博览会，现场表演紫砂塑器的制作。2008年作品《大地壶》获中国工艺美术精品博览会金奖。

Ding Yaping

Ding Yaping, another Yixing potter who is very skillful in crafting square teapots. It is well known in Yixing that square teapots are harder to make as compared to their round counterparts. This is because square teapots require precision in joining flat and square slabs of clay to form the shape of the body. Joining the handle and sprouts to this square body again requires skills and perfection in the trade. Moreover, during firing at high temperature, square teapots inevitably suffer from problems such as warping, shrinkage and cracking.

Hexagon shaped teapot by Ding Yaping

This teapot by Ding was acquired during the early days when he was still relatively unknown. The segmented hexagonal teapot by Ding demonstrated his skills in shaping such a difficult shape. The cover and the teapot match perfectly with no sign of warping. All the six sides of the teapot again show no sign of warping and they joined perfectly to form the body of the pot. Although  the teapots were made for the export market, the quality is superb. Another plus point is that the potter has now become a celebrity in his own right. He has made it to the rank of senior craftsmaster at Yixing.

Square and Round (方圓) labels of Yixing teapots

In the 1980s, the Yixing factory adopted the logo Square and Round (方圓) label on all the teapots made in the factory. This signifies a new era where the factory could finally promote its very own brand of teapots. This came at a time when the consumers of the whole world were conscious of the brands of the goods they bought. China manufacturers quickly adopted this strategy of having their very own brands in everything they produced. They knew that if their brands were famous, there would be no problem of a share of the world's market in the things they produced.

In Yixing, the factory quickly adopted the Square and Round label to market their products overseas. If you see the label, you will know that the product has come form the original Yixing factory.

This pot bears the name of Chen Zihua

Another pot with the Square n Round label

Alans Museum has in its collection some teapots with square and Round labels. Some were made by known potters whose names were listed in the factory records as potters of that era.

Green sticker teapot

Another characteristic mark of Yixing teapots made in the early years was the so-called 'green sticker'. This happened before the Yixing factory adopted a logo with a design of Square and Round for all the teapots made in the factory. The reason for adopting this label is that teapot shapes revolve around this two fundamental shapes. Potters often design round teapots that contain some square features or square teapots that carry some round features. The saying often goes like this: there is roundness in square pot and there is squareness in round pots. Hence the brand of 'Square and Round' became an instant identification of teapots from the original Yixng factory.

Before that, teapots for sale had the green stickers on them that read 'Made in China". In a way, teapots with green stickers immediately give people a signal that they were not new.

This green sticker teapot was acquired from an importer during the late 1980s. The potter was later identified to be a certain Zhou Linghua, a potter whose name appeared in the Yixing list of potters of the 1980s. Alans Museum has in its possession quite a number of such similar pots. The pot is made of old purplish brown zisha and stands on three legs. It is suited for brewing green tea due to its broad base that allow the eaves to expand fully inside the pot, releasing all its flavor.

Green Sticker Pot, a thing of the past

Jiang Xiaoyan's (蒋小彦) early work

Jiang Xiaoyan, a senior craftsmaster of Yixing, is a reputable Yixing potter.

Jiang's segmented teapot of the 1980s

Alans Museum acquired his early work in a teapot designed for the mass market. This teapot has a ball filter inside and the word Jiang Yan engraved on the inside of the cover. The bottom bears the word China Yixing. This is a classic segmented teapot where many potters were involved in their production in early days. It is not surprising one will find a big name in one of these pots. The teapot is made with the purplish brown zisha clay. It came with a plate and four cups when originally purchased. On close scrutiny, it was discovered that the potter was Jiang Xiaoyan. An incredible find indeed.

蒋彦（蒋小彦）国家级高级工艺美术师

Three accompany

This is another interesting shape of Yixing teapot, a round body standing on three legs. Any teapot design with legs has to be carefully crafted so that the pot will be balance aesthetically on its legs.

These three teapots were made by Pan Xijuen, Prof Pan Chun Fan's nephew. Miss Pan was fortunate to have an uncle both famous and talented to learn the art of teapot making.

The teapots were acquired while Prof Pan was in Singapore holding his personal teapot exhibition in the 1900s. Again when the three pots were put together, one can feel a sense of achievement, the ability to put together a family of pots of the same nature.

Three accompany, its fun

Two of a kind

This is the unique set of teapots that look like a pavilion. Although the teapots were similar in shape, they were made by two different potters using 2 different zisha clay, one red and the other purplish brown. These teapots were acquired at different time, probable in the early 90s.

The brown zisha pot was made by Jiang Sijuen (蒋夕娟) while the red zisha pot was made by Fan Soonxian, both were potters of yesteryear's fame. One has engravings on it while the other is bare to the core.

When these 2 teapots are put side by side, you will then see how matching they become, one complement the other as they stand out and shine together in the realm of zisha world. That is the fun of collecting teapots, always look for a theme and you can have endless satisfaction admiring your collection.

Two of a kind

姓名：蒋夕娟

            性别：女

            出生：1967-01-02

            类别：助理工艺美术师

Pan Chun Fang's (潘春芳) Jade Piece

Prof Pan, a student of Chu Kexin, is a senior craftsmaster who was transferred to Nanjing Academy of Art to train and nurture potters. When he was in Singapore in the 1990s, he brought along his teapots for an exhibition cum sale held in Singapore to promote Yixing art and culture.

Certificate signed by Prof Pan

Photo taken with Prof Pan in 1991

In this teapot, he conceptualized the design with the ancient jade piece of the Han and Tang period. He blended old artifact with tea drinking and came up with this teapot of unique shape and design.

Pan Chun Fang's Jade Piece

潘春芳 南京艺术学院教授、硕导 江苏省陶艺学会副理事长美国西弗吉尼亚洲立大学艺术学院客座教授 1936年9月生于江苏宜兴，1955年入宜兴紫砂工艺厂，师从朱可心学艺。1964年毕业于中央艺术陶瓷系本科，1978年入研究生班。1981年入南京艺术学院，主持陶艺专业工作。1987年主编《紫砂陶器造型》由中国轻工业出版社出版； 1987年《砂壶集》由香港远东出版社出版；1992年《茗壶竞艳》（主要编委）由译林出版社出版；1998年《宜兴紫砂》由上海人民美术出版社出版。陶艺作品《藏女》、《石城南瓜茶具》、《彩釉挂盘》曾获得各种奖项。1995年及1999年先后以中国陶艺代表团成员身份访问欧洲及日本。曾多次在美国、新加坡、加拿大、台湾等地讲学，并举办夫妇陶艺作品展。

A miniature tree

This is a cute little teapot that was modelled from the trunk of a tree. The clay used is the old zisha red clay. There is another version made from the purplish clay. Alans Museum acquired only the red clay version of this small pot. It is ideal for brewing fine tea but the volume of tea brewed is quite small, not even to quench one's thirst. 

Miniature pot for fine tea

Fan Zaoda's ancient bell

Fan Zaoda (范早大) is a craftsmaster of Yixing.

Alans Museum has kept quite a few of his teapots. This particular one was modelled on an ancient oriental bell. It is made from the traditional purplish zisha clay and has a trapezium shape with sharp corners and edges, not a good design for engineering products. But then, this is a teapot for making tea; who on earth cares about stress concentration that may lead to eventual failure of an engineering component due to design faults.

 

Fan's bell shaped teapot

范早大 1966年2月生，宜兴紫砂工艺二厂工艺美术师。1983年进紫砂二厂，先从吴同芬学艺，后师从徐汉棠，在严格的基础训练下，逐渐夯实基本功，作品以传统造型为主，赋以新的创作构思，形成新旧和谐统一的格调，所制作的《龙旦壶》在“江苏省紫砂散文节”获二等奖。主要作品有《圣桃》、《南瓜》、《掇圆》等。

A magnolia teapot

A student of Gong Chun, Si Dabin, created teapot design called the magnolia teapot. This very teapot by Dabin is currently on display in the Teapot Museum in Hong Kong.

The magnolia teapot with a ball filter inside

In the 1970s, Yixing produced this magnolia teapots for the export market. The teapot has a ball filter inside which signified that the teapots were made following Japanese specification for export to Japan. Some indeed landed in this part of the world.

Alans Museum has a piece of Magnolia teapot with a ball filter inside.

Xu Yuanmin's 徐元明 pyramid

Xu Yuanmin (徐元明), a senior craftsmaster of Yixing, is currently attached to the Yixing Research Institute.

Xu Yuanmin's pyramid

Alans Museum has a number of his teapots acquired in the early 1990s, at a time when he was still an apprentice of the factory. This particular teapot has a triangular shape, modelled after the Egypt's pyramid. It is made from Yixing purplish clay and the name Xu Yuanmin was engraved at the bottom.

徐元明，国家级高级工艺师，1964年生于江苏宜兴，以制作松、竹、梅壶见长。在传统技艺上力求变化创新，富有时代气息，技法俊秀细腻，有独特鲜明的风格。

Shi Xiaoma's (施小马) precision

Shi Xiama, a senior craftsmaster of Yixing, is known to have created a lot of square shape designs in Yixing wares. His teapots are particularly attractive and professionally crafted.

Alans Museum acquired a teapot made by Shi Xiaoma in the late 1980s. The teapot was probably one of his early work when he was still a student at the factory. The name Shi Xiama was engraved at the bottom of the pot. It is purplish brown in colour and the cover fits very well on the teapot. The cover and the pot are perfectly crafted with precision.

Shi Xiama's perfect alignment

施小马

 

施小马: 国家高级工艺美术师 高级工艺美术师、中国工艺美术学会会员，1954年生于江苏宜兴， 1998年作品《珏提壶》获“江苏省工艺美术陶瓷新品评比”一等奖；作品《扬帆壶》获“全国陶瓷专业设计评比”二等奖。1999年《垒壶》获“江苏省工艺美术陶瓷新品评比”二等奖。2000年作品《凌云壶》获“首届杭州西博会”银质奖；荣获“中国紫砂名人”称号。2001年作品《垒壶》获“杭州西博会”银质奖。

Chen Wei's pot

Chen Wei is an assistant craftsmaster of Yixing.

Alans Museum has a teapot by Chen Wei that depicts the shape of oriental flower. The pot is made from a reddish zisha and the body consists of segments of the flower. The name Chen Wei was engraved on the inside of the cover.

Chen Wei's red zisha teapot

Fan Qihua's (范其华) modified segmented form

Fan Qihua, a famous potter of Yixing, has worked hersely up from an apprentice in the 80s to now a senior craftsmaster due to her hard work and good workmanship.

Alans Museum had acquired 2 pieces of her work in the 1990s. One is a bluish zisha  clay and the other is a red zisha teapot.

A blue clay segmented teapot

Fan Qihua

A red zisha pot by Fan QH

 

范其华 高级工艺美术师 江苏省美术协会会员 无锡市美术协会会员 1964年1月生于江苏宜兴，从小生长在陶艺之乡。1980年从事紫砂陶行业，师承中国工艺美术大师徐汉棠，并得到老师悉心传教。多年来一直致力于紫砂工艺的创作和研究，有许多原创力作问世，作品在国内外多次展出得奖，并深得海内外爱收藏家的厚爱。

Xu Sihai's (许四海) art

Xu Sihai (许四海), not a native of Yixing, is a retired army personnel who loved the Yixing art and culture so much that he left the army and pursued a career in Yixing at the age of 40. He called himself 'the outsider' and went to Yixing to work and learn the art of teapot making. He made friend with a famous painter,Tang Yun, and made teapots designed by him. He managed to gain some fame in Yixing amidst the large pool of already well known potters at a that time.

In the 1980s, Singapore Chinese Tea House, a local company engaged in tea drinking business, commissioned Xu to make some teapots bearing Chinese Tea House logo to commemorate the operation of tea drinking business of the company in Singapore. Xu engaged a potter from Yixing and made the teapots (around 180 to 200 pieces) for delivery to Singapore Tea House. The teapots bear Singapore Tea House logo at the bottom, the potter's name at the inside of the cover and Supervised by Xu Sihai at the bottom of the handle. These teapots have a globular shape which is very appealing esthetically and the pots season very well. They are very good for brewing fine kungfu tea due to their small size. After years of using them for brewing tea, they will develop a glossy appearance outside.

Xu Sihai's commissioned teapots

Alans Museum has 2 such teapots acquired in the early 1990s. They are made from black and red Yixing zisha clay.

许四海: 字紫云，1946年生，盐城人。师从国画大师唐云，作品“夏意”获国家金牌奖。与多位书画名家合作的“海春壶”“寿翁壶”“啸天壶”和“云海壶”堪称一绝，并为“八运会”“香港回归”“上海国际茶文化节”等特制专用茶壶。1989年新加坡成功举办个人作品展，号称江南壶怪。许四海是一位在海内外享有盛誉的紫砂陶艺大家，也是一位极富传奇色彩的鉴藏家。 

一套向2010年上海世博会献礼的紫砂“世博汉字壶”于2010年2月18日在沪面世，传承中华数千年历史的汉字与中国传统手工紫砂工艺珠联璧合而成为精品茗具。中国世博纪念品研发工作室与素有“江南壶怪”

 

许四海生于1946年5月15号

　　1959-1960 上海第四建筑工程公司 水泥工木工

　　1960-1964 上海市公交公司电车一场售票员

　　1964.9-1967.7 参军，任广州空军惠阳场站通讯连班长

　　1967.7-1969.9 入越南参加抗美援越战争任侦察排排长

　　1969.9-1971 回国任惠阳场站警卫连指导员

　　1971-1980 广州空军第三十五师文化干事

　　1980-1984 复员转业到上海市公用事业学校前后担任学生科科长总务科长膳食科科长

　　1984-1987应聘到江苏宜兴紫砂二厂担任助理厂长

　　1985年中国轻工部举办首届全国陶瓷作品评比中许四海作品紫砂滴水“夏意”获得了最高分夺得金奖,后来这件作品又被美国亚洲艺术博物馆收藏

　　1989年 应邀赴新加坡举办个人陶艺作品展览

　　1987-1992 回上海创办四海茶具馆 四海茶文化发展有限公司 四海陶瓷发展有限公司 创立四海窑紫砂茶具品牌

　　1992年 经上海文管会批准四海壶具博物馆正式成立并对外开放 并在嘉定曹安路1978号开始建设百佛园

　　2009年完成百佛园建设及四海艺术馆建设为迎上海世博会2010年正式对外开放

Xu Xihai, 许四海

 

Kao Xiangjun's (高湘君) segmented pot

Kao Xiangjun, a senior craftsmaster of Yixing, is a famous potter at the factory. She is skillful at both geometric and natural form of Yixing ware.

Alans Museum has acquired a teapot which has a segmented design. The teapot was probably one of her earlier work which she made when she was still a apprentice at the fatory. The teapots were manufactured in the 1970s for the export market. The name Kao Xiangjun was engraved at the bottom of the teapot which is purplish brown in colour. The segments were perfectly crafted to make the body work and the pot is ideal for kungfu tea appreciation due to its small size.

Kao Xianjun's geometric form

高湘君:1957年生于江苏宜兴陶都。1976年进宜兴紫砂工艺厂工作。先后师承高级工艺美术师李碧芳，高级工艺美术师江苏省名人谢曼伦。深得为师的教译。一九八三年，一九八八年二度进中央工艺美术学院造型设计进修班学习深造。一九八一年至今在宜兴紫砂厂研究所从事创作设计制作。

　　作品在集承师传统和花器基础上，力求新创毅和创新，对紫砂文化有一定的研究。技术全面，功底扎实，壶艺作品完美，精细，形成自己个性风格。

　　多年壶艺研究和制作经验的积累，现今作品在香港，台湾以及国内已颇有名气，深受壶艺爱好界人士的青睐及珍藏。在国内行业大展中屡获奖项。

Kao Lijuen's (高丽君) jade rabbit

Kao Lijuen (高丽君), currently attached to the Yixing Research Institute, is a senior craftsmaster. She was active in the 80s and 90s and has trained many potters who have become equally famous. One such student is Qi Yeesoon, a nation master at the provincial level. Kao is famous for fer artistic portrayal of natural things such as butterfly, lotus and animals.

Kao's red clay jade rabbit pot

Alan Museum has one piece of Kao's work that depicts a cute rabbit on the cover. It is made from the traditional red zhisha clay.

高丽君: 1940年生于江苏宜兴，高级工艺美术师(宜兴市职改办评定)，中国工艺美术学会会员，宜兴紫砂文化艺术研究专委会会员，现宜兴方圓紫砂工艺有限公司从事紫砂壶艺。

1955年进宜兴紫砂工艺厂，先后师从著名艺人朱可心、王寅春学艺，后从事艺徒培训工作十多年，2000年作品《鸣蝉瓜壶》获江苏省陶艺评比一等奖和中国工艺美术精品博览会银奖，其代表作品有《南瓜壶》系列等十多个品种。 研究员级高级工艺美术师

A giant teapot

Giant teapot is a rare gem in itself as it is normally not easy to make and fire huge Yixing teapots. Not only that giant teapot requires a lot of Yixing clay (consider now the cost of clay has increase), the pot can easily cracked if not fired properly. In today's trade, it is not easy to fire such big fellows in electric furnaces. In early days, teapots were fired in dragon kiln where wood was burnt to achieved the high temperature required. Experiences of kiln workers were essential to the success of the earthen wares produced by masters.

Alans Museum has such a giant teapot made in the 80s. The potter's name was not very clearly identified but the person who did the inscription work is Tan Quenhai, currently a national grand master famous for engraving work. Although he made his own teapot, Tan used to carry out most of the engraving work on teapots in the factory due to his skills in engraving and his knowledge in the cultural aspects of art and crafts.

 

Giant teapot with inscription by Tan Quenhai

谭泉海 :1939年出生于江苏宜兴，高级工艺美术师，中国工艺美术大师第七、八、九三届全国人大代表，宜兴市人大副主任，中国王艺美术学会会员，宜兴紫砂文化艺术研究专委会顾问，曾任宜兴紫砂工艺厂副总工艺师。

Teapots exported to Japan

In the 1970s and 1980s, Yixing factory produced quite a number of teapots for export to the Japanese markets. These teapots bear a unique hallmark, they all have a ball filter at the inside of the teapot at the point where the sprout joins the main body work. The function of the ball filter is to prevent the tea from being leaving the teapot. This was a specification at that time by the Japanese tea drinkers as they are known to make tea from very fine tea leaves (some even use tea powders). There are many designs of the teapot exported to Japan. Some were even made by famous potters during their younger days. If you were lucky, you might possess one made by senior crafts masters or even national grand masters of today.

There are quite a number of such 'ball filter' (as they were more appropriately called in market here) teapots in Alans Museum. They were acquired over a number of years of searching and hunting in the antique shops and supermarkets. Some bear the name of Pifang, Jiangyan and Jianhua, all are current craftsmasters in the trade.

 

Teapot with a peach at the cover

 

Teapot showing a lion resting on the cover

 

Teapot with squirrel on top

 

Yuting's (邵友庭) natural form

Yuting, another native of Yixing active around the 19th century, was famous for creating teapots that depict natural forms.

Alans Museum has a piece of Shao Yuting's work. It was also acquired in the early 90s in an antique shop in Singapore. The teapot shaped like an oriental fruit. The word Yuting was engraved in the inside of the cover.

  

Yuting's natural form

          姓名：邵友庭

          性别：男

          生于：清道光至同治年

          简介：清咸丰年间紫砂大师.程寿珍养父.作品粗犷而显其韵.

邵友廷，清道光至同治年间宜兴上袁村人，他精工壶艺，尤其善于制作鹅蛋壶和掇球壶。邵友廷成名于邵大亨之后，是近代制壶名家程寿珍的养父。他制作的紫砂壶大多工整、规矩，其制作的器物，大多盖有“友廷”两字的椭圆形阳文印，是清末的制壶名家。

 



Wu Yaoting's (胡耀庭) masterpiece

Wu Yaoting (胡耀庭), a Yixing native who was an active potter in the 20the century. was famous for his square teapot.

There is a square teapot by Wu in Alans Museum. This piece was acquired in the late 80s in a antique shop in Singapore. The handle is made of brass. There is a picture of a scholar engraved on the front side of the teapot. The word Yaoting was engraved on the inside cover of the teapot.

Teapot by Yaoting of the 20th century

胡耀庭生于清咸光年间，卒于民国时期的20世纪30年代。他长期受雇于吴德盛公司，以善制方器著称。民初上海铁画轩公司成立时，店主戴国宝（号玉屏）特请胡耀庭制作《汉方壶》，此壶现由南京王一羽收藏，而胡耀庭制作的《砖方壶》现由南京博物院收藏。

Vases from Yixing

Besides making teapots, Yixing potters also make a wide range of other products such as flower pots, vases, figurines and other decorative objects. It is well known that the flowers pots from Yixing are ideal to grow flowers and plants due to the minute porisities present in the clay. These will make the plants grow stronger and healthier.

Alans Museum has in its possession some vases and pots from Yixing. These are made form the yellow clay of Yixing. These vases are nicely painted with engravings of calligraphy and other artistic work. There are also some nuts made so real thay one may mistaken them to be the real things.

A yellow vase of the 70s

 

 

Vase of the 60s

 

Assorted items of nuts

 

A glazed antique pot

In the 18th and 19th centuries, some Yixing teapots were beautifully glazed with scenery and other decorative motifs. Even tough it is not a tradition to have glaze on the Yixing wares, but some potters wanted to explore other alternative to decorate the Yixing wares. They applied glaze of different colours when the painted on the teapots The end result is a teapot with beautiful scenery painted and glazed permanently on it. The nature and type of the glaze used will tell collector that these teapots were from the late Qing dynasty period.

Alans Museum has one such piece of glazed teapot. The maker is not known as the inscription is not easy to identify (in strange calligraphy).

This teapot is probably from the 19th century