The Stonewares of Yixing. From the Ming Period to the Present Day: with an index of potters, artistic collaborators and collectors compiled by Lai Suk Yee and IP Wing Chi

Sotheby's Publications by Philip Wilson Publishers Ltd, 1986 Book. Good. Hardcover. 1st Edition. English text; Hardcover (with dust jacket); 20 x 28 cm; 1.3 Kg; 288 pages with 223 illustrations, including 8 in colour.; Used book with signs of wear on the exterior and interior. The spine of the dust jacket is faded, as well as the top of the front cover.The dust jacket is now protected with a clearcover.; Despite its beauty, individuality and variety of design, the red or brown unglazed stoneware produced at Yixing in Jiangsu Province has received less attention than other branches of Chinese ceramic art. The Yixing potters have always specialised in the making of teapots, whose use became widespread during the Ming period as a result of the innovation of making tea from rolled leaves, rather than using it in the fine-ground, powdered form in which it had previously been supplied. From the early sixteenth century onwards until the present day these potters have continually explored a wide diversity of shapes and styles - chiefly the geometric, segmented or naturalistic. Demand for their wares came not only from elsewhere in the East but also from European countries, which imported them and where they were imitated by such potters as Ary de Milde in Holland, The Elers brothers in England and the Meissen master Bottger. In The Stonewares of Yixing, Dr. K.S. Lo has produced a much-needed comprehensive, fully illustrated study of the subject. He describes the special clays of the region and outlines past and present methods of potting, firing and decoration. In the main part of his book he traces the development of Yixing pottery throughout the period, beginning in the late sixteenth century, discussing the earliest potters by name and then, in turn, those whose work survives. He sets his subject in the context of contemporary patronage - which, in this case, came not from the Imperial Court bu from men of letters, wealthy merchants and the middle-ranking officials - and analyses the influences of Chinese traditions in calligraphy, painting and design. He also pays due attention to such special aspects of Yixing pottery as Gongju teapots, pots decorated in enamel or encased in pewter or other metals, export wares, and apart from teapots, the miscellaneous objects (ranging from utilitarian items, such as flower pots, to articles for the scholar's desk and figurines) which have been produced at the potteries. The illustrations show not only the wares themselves (including specially drawn diagrams of some of the more important standard shapes), but the inscriptions and seals used by the potters and shop marks. There is a comprehensive index compiled by Lai Suk and Ip Chang Chi, in English and Chinese, of Yixing potters, their artistic collaborators and collectors, with dates..