Wang Tingmei was the wife of Xu Hantang and the mother of Xu Daming (maker of lot 12) and Xu Weiming (maker of lot 1). She spent her entire life in the factory making small teapots for drinking gongfu tea. In her retirement, she started to make miniature teapots. She was especially gifted at it and made teapots in over 80 styles. Wang Tingmei was an unknown potter, her husband Xu Hantang (awarded the highest title of China Arts and Crafts Master) added his seal to her pots to give her more prestige. Terese Tse Bartholomew saw her works in Yixing and was most impressed. See “Wang Tingmei, an Unknown Potter of Yixing,” The Society for Asian Art Newsletter, Summer, 1989, p.3.

This set of ten miniature teapots imitates the classic designs of Yixing teapots throughout the history of their production. Two sets of eight miniature teapots of similar forms, made by Xu Hantang and Wang Tingmei, were sold at Beijing Council International Auction Co. Ltd., 4 December 2011, lot 2466 and at China Guardian Auctions Co. Ltd, 20 November 2010, lot 3595.