Antique for a song

The other day while in a shop selling second-hand things, a small flat bowl caught my attention. It looked pretty refine and well made. This bowl was used as a device for scholars to wash their brushes while doing their calligraphy work.

I looked at the base of the bowl, there were some Chinese characters, not those that showed made during the reign of some emperors (liked made in Qian Long Era, etc). Instead, the characters showed it was made by a shop (Zing Wei Tang).

When I looked at the price tag, it was only $6.80. I could not believe that such an elegant bowl was sold for only $6.80. Looking at the glaze, I knew it was an old bowl, definitely more than 100 years old. A fake one would not be so fine in quality and its glaze would look pretty new. Immediately I went to the cashier and paid for the bowl.

A flat bowl for washing brushes

When I showed it to a friend, he agreed with me that this was an old porcelain bowl, easily more than a hundred years old. We were puzzled as to why this bowl was in a second-hand shop selling for such a low price.

Later when I browsed through a book on Qing dynasty porcelains, I found out that there were some porcelain wares bearing the marks of some famous shops at the base of the ware. There were many of such shops and their marks were used from Kang Xi period to Qian Long period. Then I discovered that the shop named Zing Wei Tang was actually used during the Yong Zhen and Qian Long period. This means that the bowl could be dated back to the Yong Zhen and Qian Long era,  a distant 400 years ago. In fact, I got myself an antique for an extremely low price.

There are still valuable things out there selling at very low price. The question is whether you are able to spot them at the right time, right place and for the right price.

Crazy teapots

Gu Jingzhow, a world renown potter, was the greatest contemporary potter in the 20th century. His teapots were so sought after that there are no shortage of bidders if they are put in the auction markets. Every time, a new record is created in the auction market and people are paying hefty prices just to own one of his works.

In 2015, his teapot set (10 piece) was sold for a record 92 millions in RMB.

He took one year to make this set

In 2011, the record was over 17 millions for a set of 11 piece.

This teapot was sold for over 10 millions in the early 20s.

This teapot was made in the 50s

Wang YinXien

Recently bloused through Baidu's site on the latest news related to Yixing teapots and potters and found this posting. A famous teapot grands-master, Wang Yinxien passed away in March this year due to illness, aged 75. Just recently, I was watching a video clip in the U-tube on her life and the teapots she made over the years. She came from a humble beginning and rose above the rank to become a national grand-master in teapot.

Wang was no ordinary potter in Yixing. She was awarded the national Grand-master title in 2007. Her works have been collection items in many museums both locally and around the world.

Wang and her most famous teapot, Curved Pot

Wang was famous with this Curved Pot, a design created by Prof Zhang and made by Wang. I had a chance to meet her in the 90s when she came to Singapore to exhibit this teapot. There were two Taiwanese who followed her all the way to Singapore just to bid for this one. Eventually one of them bought it for US$20k. The organizer of the event, a close friend of mine, told me that he had to engage an Indian Money Exchanger to authenticate all the big notes as Banks refused to do so. It was a lot of money then. Of course, today the teapot can fetch millions in auction markets.

Brochure of the event held in Singapore

Wang's other famous works include:

My friends visited her in the 90s and she gave me an autographed publication on her teapots.

She was such a talented and gifted potter. Her passing is a loss in the world of Yixing ware. We will miss her.

Ruyi Teapot

I recently made a trip to China Town and spotted this teapot in one of the shops selling second-hand items. Although I have quite a lot of teapots in my collection, I still couldn't resist the temptation of this particular one. It sat on the shelves with other teapots and no body seemed to be interested in it.

This teapot is known as Ru Yi Hu, a very traditional design and most potters would have made it in their career. The clay is of good quality zisha and workmanship was superb. I did not buy it at the first instant as the shop was crowded with people interested in other items on display at the shelves.

On my second visit to the shop, I did not see it on the same shelve on display earlier. Immediately I thought that it was gone as there are people who could recognize good stuff hidden among ordinary ware. Well, in the business of collecting collectibles; if you miss it, you will miss it forever. Opportunity won't wait for someone who he is hesitating, or dare not make the move when the time is ripe. Could I have missed to own one teapot that I loved to have because of inaction that day.

Anxiously, my eyes began to scan all the shelves in the shop that carry teapots. Suddenly I saw it just placed at a shelve below partially hidden by other items. This means someone took a look at it and did not offer to buy it, that was why it was put back at a different location. It was really a relief that the teapot was still available. I asked the shop owner the price and it was way below its market value.
 I bought it immediately and chatted with the owner that the pot was ideal for brewing puerh due to its size. The owner even gave me a good discount for it.

I took it home and tested the teapot with water. The flow of water through the sprout was excellent, a stream of water just flow with such strength and fluency. When I stop pouring, the flow of water just stopped and no water was seen dripping down the sprout. This is indeed an excellent piece of work, the potter must be experienced to make such a functional teapot, apart from its aesthetic appearance.

Ruyi Hu by Gu Jingzhou

The above photo shows the same teapot design as made by the legendary Gu Jingzhou. Notice how elegantly it was made by the grand master of teapot. No wonder his works are auctioned for a phenomenal sum in international auction house.

Potter with her Ruyi teapot

Before and after use

Monet's paintings

I have always been fascinated by paintings of impressionist artist Claude Monet, especially his paintings on Sunrise and the poppy field. One can just stand hours and hours in front of these paintings and discover the remarkable mystery of the impressionist art.

Impressionist artists's works were considered as rubbish when they were on exhibition in Paris in the 1800s due to their lack of realism. In those days, paintings were mostly on religious figures/subjects and they were superbly painted with excellent use of colour. The figures looked so real that as if they were taken using camera. The impressionist works, on the other hand, were just sketches and were not considered as art. However, the spirit of the impressionism was like a revolution that swept the art world. Today, impressionist art works are sought after in auction. The paintings of Monet on water lily could fetch tens of millions of dollars.

This one was auctioned for 80 millions

Recently I have a chance to see Monet's paintings here in Singapore. Thanks to National Gallery for holding an Art Exhibition entitled Century of Light which featured quite a number of works of impressionist artist, Claude Monet. Below are just some of the paintings on display that i captured on my hand phone.

Claude Monet Self-Portrait

The elderly Monet with his pallete

If you have the time, do visit the National Gallery of Singapore for a glimpse of the world of this impressionist artist. The paintings are on loan from France until March. However, this 80 million painting of Monet is on in the exhibition.

Water Lily Pond by Monet

Statues of Da Mo

Recently collected 2 simple, yet artistic wood carvings of Da Mo, one tall and the other short one. The carvings featured only the head of Da Mo on a block of wood. Da Mo, an Indian monk who came to China in the 5th century. According to legend, he trained many disciples in martial art and started the School of Shaolin specializing in various types of kungfu routines.

Carvings of Da Mo

 Da Mo, or Bodhidharma ,was a Buddhist monk who lived during the 5th or 6th century. He is traditionally credited as the transmitter of Chan Buddhism to China, and regarded as its first Chinese patriarch. According to Chinese legend, he also began the physical training of the monks of Shaolin Monastery that led to the creation of Shaolin kungfu. In Japan, he is known as Daruma. (source from Wikipedia).