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A 1948 Yixing teapot by master ceramicist Gu Jingzhou sold in May at a Beijing auction for nearly $2 million. We showcase some of Jingzhou's other works and discuss the dramatic rebound of the market for Chinese artworks.
How do you take yours? Milk and sugar? A dash of lemon? For one collector of Chinese artworks, the answer that question is with a rare teapot by master ceramicist Gu Jingzhou, which sold in May for nearly $2 million at auction in Beijing, making it the most expensive Yixing teapot ever.
Dating from 1948, the teapot in question is made of clay from the town of Yixing in China, which can be brown, blue, orange, red or, in its most rare form, purple. The region’s teapots are celebrated because of the porous nature of the clay, which absorbs the flavour of the tea, eventually infusing the teapot with its own flavour.
The most sought after Yixing (pronounced ee-shing) teapots are those by Gu Jingzhou. Born into a family of potters in 1915, Jingzhou began crafting teapots at age 18 and by 20 he was already well known for his talent. A scholar of art history, he worked with artists and calligraphers to create objects of beauty. The teapot that sold $2 million is engraved with calligraphy by Wu Hufan and bamboo carving by painter Jiang Handing. At the time of his death in 1996, Jingzhou, who was still working, was considered on a par with the Ming court craftsmen of the 14th century.
Xijing teapots are not the only example of Chinese craftsmanship to be on the up in the auction room. In June, a 15-meter long calligraphic hand scroll by Song Dynasty master Huang Tingjian sold for $63.8 million at Being’s Poly International Auction Co. And in May, 12 pieces from the Guy & Myriam Ullens Collection, including seven antiquities exhibited at Beijing’s Palace Museum, fetched $21.4 million, also at Poly.
The dramatic rebound of the market for ancient Chinese artworks is part of the reason that Christie’s is seeking to enter China. Earlier this year, Francois Curiel was appointed President of Christie’s Asia, a move which saw him relocate to Hong Kong to be closer to the market.
“In 2009 the value of the Chinese art market represented $2.2bn,” Curiel told the Financial Times in May. “In 2009 it grew by 5 per cent, when other markets fell by about 30 per cent. We believe that by 2015 the size of the Asian art market will be $5bn, compared with the whole of Europe which will be $6bn, and the US which will be $4bn.”
Of the local auction houses dealing with these pieces, he commented: “Have you ever heard of Shengjia? Or Xileng? Or Changfeng? They are all Chinese – and they’re all in the top 20 auction houses! Four Chinese auction houses are in the top 10 – nine of them in the top 20!”
Currently it is forbidden for a foreign-owned auction house to operate in China. But if Christie’s succeeds in its desire to become an important player in the region, it will herald a new age for the art market, where teapots and calligraphic scrolls are the new Giacometti sculptures and Picasso paintings.