Provenance: Collection of Chen Keli (1908- after 1985).

Literature: Chen Keli, Yangxian shaqi jingpin tupu (An Illustrated Catalogue of Yangxian Stonewares), Taipei, 1985, pl. 33
Themes and Variations: The Zisha Pottery of Chen Mingyuan, Shanghai Museum & the Art Museum, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1997, p. 165, fig. 7
Ming er yuan xi: Chen Mingyuan taoyi yanjiu, Beijing, 2016.

Chen Keli, Yangxian shaqi jingpin tupu (An Illustrated Catalogue of Yangxian Stonewares), Taipei, 1985, pl. 33

Note: This water dropper was formerly in the collection of Chen Keli, a major collector of Yixing wares in the early 20th century. In the preface of his catalogue in which this water dropper is illustrated, Chen recalled that he first developed his passion for Yixing wares from the inspiration of his relative, the pre-eminent late-Qing scholar and collector Gong Xinzhao (1870-1949), and that he acquired the bulk of his collection through the dealership of Rongbaozhai.