A LARGE "DA QU" YIXING TEAPOT, by Wang Yinxian and Zhang Shouzhi
This Yixing stoneware teapot is the celebrated Da Qu Hu (Large Curved Teapot), collaboratively created by Wang Yinxian and Zhang Shouzhi, bearing the impressed seals "Yinxian" and "Shouzhi." The entire composition is defined by a single sweeping curve that unifies the spout, body, and handle into one continuous sculptural gesture. Low in profile yet remarkably dynamic, the vessel embodies a restrained elegance while conveying a powerful sense of movement, making it one of the iconic masterpieces of modern Yixing ceramic art.
Wang Yinxian (1943–2018), a native of Dingshu, Yixing, Jiangsu Province, was a Master of Chinese Arts and Crafts and one of the first National Representative Inheritors of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of China for the craft of Yixing stoneware. Yixing purple clay is found exclusively in Dingshu, a town often regarded alongside Jingdezhen as one of China's two great ceramic capitals. Benefiting from its unique mineral resources, centuries-old ceramic tradition, and profound literati tea culture, Dingshu has remained the sole source of authentic Yixing clay and enjoys an international reputation for its exceptional teawares. In 2006, the craft of Yixing stoneware was inscribed on China's first National Intangible Cultural Heritage List, and in 2007 Wang Yinxian was officially designated as one of its inaugural representative inheritors.
The Da Qu Hu is widely regarded as Wang Yinxian's signature creation and one of her most celebrated collaborations with the renowned ceramic designer Zhang Shouzhi. Rather than relying upon decorative embellishment, the design derives its beauty from structural harmony, spatial rhythm, and the elegant continuity of a single flowing line. The broad compressed body, short spout, and elevated loop handle combine to create a sculptural composition that is simultaneously functional and profoundly modern. While preserving the quiet refinement traditionally associated with Yixing ware, the vessel also represents one of the most successful syntheses of traditional craftsmanship and modern design in twentieth-century Chinese ceramic art.
Art historian Lü Huitian praised the work in exceptionally high terms, writing:
“Employing dialectical thinking and dreamlike imagination, inspired by the concept that ‘through curvature comes completeness, through seeming crookedness comes straightness,’ together with an economy of form, the interplay of solid and void, and a majestic structural composition, Wang created a monumental ceramic masterpiece worthy of the contemporary age.”
He further observed:
“The Qu Hu opened an entirely new chapter in the history of Yixing. It earned enduring admiration and inspired countless collectors. Many of today's younger Yixing enthusiasts first fell in love with purple-clay pottery through this teapot. Its harmonious balance of movement and stillness, its calm and dignified texture, embodies a philosophy, a culture, the aesthetic ideals of a nation, and the aspirations of modern life. Through a single flowing curve extending vertically and spiraling through three-dimensional space, the artist achieved a perfect sculptural form. Exploiting the unique qualities of Yixing clay, every proportion—its width, thickness, and angle—appears entirely natural. Inspired by the Yijing, which teaches that ‘through simplicity the principles of the world are attained,’ and by the spirit of Chinese painting, where ‘true vitality and grandeur arise from spiritual emptiness,’ the Qu Hu unites history with modernity, tradition with personal creativity. It has unquestionably become a modern classic destined to endure—indeed, an artistic ‘Noah's Ark’ for a new era.”
(Lü Huitian, “A Teapot That Shook an Era,” Chinese Ceramic Artists, no. 1, 2018, pp. 48–53.)
Lü's analysis eloquently identifies the historical significance of the Da Qu Hu. More than a utilitarian teapot, it is a sculptural expression of modern Chinese aesthetics. Rooted in the philosophy of the Yijing and the spatial principles of Chinese painting, the sweeping curve that defines the vessel is not merely decorative—it serves as the conceptual and structural backbone of the composition, achieving a remarkable balance between solidity and void, stillness and movement, tradition and innovation.
The importance of this model has also been recognized internationally. At Christie's New York on 26 March 2019, in the celebrated sale Contemporary Clay: Yixing Pottery from the Irving Collection, a closely comparable Da Qu Hu by Wang Yinxian and Zhang Shouzhi realized US$150,000, substantially exceeding its pre-sale estimate. The close correspondence in authorship, conception, and sculptural form underscores the enduring importance of this iconic design and confirms its status as one of the defining masterpieces of modern Yixing ceramic art.
From the collection of a distinguished San Francisco collector.
Height: 4 in (10.2 cm); Length: 5 1/4 in (13.3 cm)
汪寅仙、张守智合作制大曲壶
此件紫砂壶为汪寅仙与张守智合作之经典器型“大曲壶”，钤印“寅仙”“守智”。壶身以一条贯通全器的弧线为核心，流、身、把自然呼应，形体低伏而富有张力，沉稳中见流动，简约中见气象，是当代宜兴紫砂从传统器用迈向现代陶艺的重要代表作品。
汪寅仙（1943–2018），江苏宜兴丁蜀镇人，中国工艺美术大师，中国第一批国家级非物质文化遗产项目“宜兴紫砂陶制作技艺”代表性传承人。宜兴紫砂产于江苏宜兴，更准确而言集中于丁蜀镇。丁蜀镇与景德镇并称中国陶瓷史上的两大陶都，凭借独特的紫砂矿料、悠久的制陶传统以及深厚的文人茶文化，形成了中国陶瓷艺术中独树一帜的紫砂体系。2006年，“宜兴紫砂陶制作技艺”被列入第一批国家级非物质文化遗产名录；2007年，汪寅仙被文化部确定为首批国家级非物质文化遗产代表性传承人。
“大曲壶”是汪寅仙最具代表性的现代紫砂作品，也是她与中国著名陶瓷设计家张守智先生合作完成的经典之作。作品不以繁缛装饰取胜，而是以整体结构、空间节奏和流动曲线建立视觉张力。壶体宽厚舒展，短流含蓄有力，提梁自壶身自然升起，以一根优雅而连续的曲线贯穿全器，使器物兼具雕塑感与实用性。这件作品既保留了紫砂温润、含蓄、内敛的材质精神，又充分体现了二十世纪后期中国现代设计思想融入传统紫砂艺术的重要探索。
吕会田曾高度评价《曲壶》的艺术成就：
“用辩证思维和梦幻般的想象力，‘曲则全，枉则直’的理念，简约虚实的立意，气势如虹的架构，创作了无愧当代的陶艺重器经典。”
又进一步指出：
“ 一把《曲壶》，为陶都续写了崭新的篇章，赢得了久远的美誉，引来了无数的青睐，当代的很多青年紫砂收藏家，就是从见到《曲壶》开始的，那动静相宜的现代之美，沉稳端庄的肌理质感，代表着一种哲学、一种文化、代表着一个民族的审美、现代人生活的追求，作者用一根简单的曲线，在上下贯通、旋转流动的立体轨迹中，勾勒出了一件完美的造型，用紫砂泥的特性，使壶的宽度、厚度、角度恰到好处，俱成天趣。这启蒙于《易经》中‘易简而天下之理得矣’，来自于同源的笔墨丹青‘画贵有神韵，有气魄，然皆从虚灵中得来’。细细解读《曲壶》的造型语言，在空间与实体的强烈对比中，它承载着厚重的历史掌故，表达着无数的现代信息，用古人之规矩，而抒写自己之灵性，在文化艺术的传承中，乘风破浪，永立潮头，无疑成为当代传世经典，新时代的‘诺亚方舟’。”
——吕会田：《一把壶震撼了一个时代》，《中国陶艺家》，2018年第1期，第48–53页。
吕会田的论述准确揭示了“大曲壶”的艺术史意义。它不仅是一件茶器，更是一件具有现代雕塑意味的陶艺作品。其设计理念既源自《易经》“易简而天下之理得矣”的哲学思想，也吸收了中国书画“画贵有神韵，有气魄，然皆从虚灵中得来”的审美精神。器身那一条贯穿始终的曲线，并非装饰性的元素，而是整件作品的精神骨架，在实体与空间、静止与运动、传统与现代之间建立起高度统一而富有哲思的艺术语言。
此器型亦获得国际收藏界的高度认可。2019年3月26日，佳士得纽约举办“壶里乾坤：欧云伉俪珍藏宜兴紫砂器（Contemporary Clay: Yixing Pottery from the Irving Collection）”专场，一件汪寅仙与张守智合作的大曲壶以150,000美元成交，远超拍前估价。其造型、设计理念及作者组合均与本器极为接近，充分反映了“大曲壶”作为汪寅仙代表作品的重要艺术地位，以及国际藏家对这一经典器型的高度认同。
旧金山资深藏家旧藏。
高 4英寸（10.2厘米）；长 5¼英寸（13.3厘米）
For condition report and additional photos, please contact the Asian Art Department.
