「汪寅仙」、「寅仙」、「汪」、「寅仙」印款

Wang Yinxian (1943–2018), a female artist, alias “Zhaoyang,” was born and raised in Yixing, Jiangsu province. Wang started her career in the Yixing Purple Clay Factory in 1956. She began to study and practice Yixing pottery at the age of 14, and produced teapots with both traditional and innovative designs throughout her career. She was awarded one of the country’s highest artistic titles, “China Arts and Crafts Master.”（中國工藝美術大師）

Wang studied with renowned masters such as Wu Yungeng, Zhu Kexin, Pei Shimin, Jiang Rong (maker of lot 15 in the present sale) and Gu Jingzhou. She epitomized the strengths of several artistic schools and was known for her huahuo (naturalistic ware), but also exceled in making classic forms. The present teapot imitates the shape of a flying bird: the body and the handle serve as the bird’s body and wings, while the spout serves as the head of the bird. A teapot of very similar design by Wang Yinxian is in the collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing (illustrated by Wang Jianhua, Yixing Zisha Wares in the Palace Museum, Beijing, 2007, p. 297, no. 193). Another example is illustrated by Wang Yinxian herself in A Collection of Purple Clay Pottery by Wang Yinxian, Taipei, 1997, p.133.