Lot 223. A Yixing ‘Millstone' teapot and cover dated Chongzhen guiyou year corresponding to 1633, signed Sheng Guanwu. Length 5 5/8  in., 14.4 cm.  Estimate 20,000 — 30,000 USD. Lot sold 60,000 USD. Photo: Sotheby's.

of squat cylindrical form, the flat shoulder and cover with a broad groove, echoing the form of a millstone, the sides set with a short spout opposite the loop handle, the recessed base neatly incised Chongzhen guiyou Sheng Guanwu (guiyou year of the Chongzhen reign, Sheng Guanwu) (2).  

Provenance: Collection of Tom Y. P. Lee.
E & J Frankel, Ltd., New York, 2005.

Bibliography: E & J Frankel, Zisha: The Purple Sand of China : The Lee Collection of Ming and Qing Dynasty Yixing Ware, New York, 2005, cat. no. 8

Note: The practice of incising the date and artist's name on the base of an Yixing vessel was common during the Ming period. For examples of Ming dynasty teapots with similar treatments to the base see K. S. Lo, The Stonewares of Yixing from the Ming Period to the Present Day, Hong Kong, 1986, pp. 43, 46, 46, 52, 56 and 57. The artist Sheng Guanwu does not appear to be recorded.

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, New York, 15 sept. 2015