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October 24, 2018

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Freshly brewed exhibition of purple clayware

GU Jingzhou (1915-1996), a famous purple clay teapot maker whose teapots today fetch more than 10 million yuan (US$1.44 million) at auctions, paid his last trip to Shanghai merely for a look at “Da Heng Duo Zhi Hu” (大亨掇只壶).

Happily the mysterious aura of “Da Heng Duo Zhi Hu” will be unveiled at an exhibition titled “Heavenly Creations — teapots made by Xu Sihai and teapots from his collection” at PortMix.

In fact, “Da Heng Duo Zhi Hu” was made by Shao Daheng (1796-1861), a purple clay teapot master of the Qing Dynasty, for the Pan Family in Yixing, a city of Wuxi in southern Jiangsu Province, known for its traditional clayware.

Xu Sihai, one of the most successful teapot makers in China today, is the collector of this priceless teapot. “Da Heng Duo Zhi Hu” has been collected by him at his “Sihai Teapot Museum,” China’s first private museum established in 1992.

And the man himself is a legend.

Born in Yancheng, Jiangsu Province, Xu moved to Shanghai with his mother when he was 10 years old.

At the age of 23, he joined the army. He was sent to Vietnam as a scout in the late 1960s.

While in the army, he started drinking tea and gradually developed an interest in purple clay teapots.

After he was discharged from the service, Xu returned to Shanghai with a truck full of purple clay teapots.

His interest deepened in the 1980s, a time when the teapot’s value had not been fully recognized.

Years later, his talent as a teapot maker was recognized, both within China and abroad. In 1985, his teapot “Summer” was awarded the golden prize in a national competition and purchased by the Asian Art Museum in the United States.

The current exhibition showcases nearly 300 teapots, and 15 of which are from his personal collection, including “Da Heng Duo Zhi Hu.”

“It was about 33 years ago when I heard the news that the Pan Family in Yixing wanted to sell this teapot,” Xu recalled. “I immediately went there and spent nearly 30,000 yuan on it. Of course, today 30,000 is not a big amount. But just imagine it was in the 1980s, the monthly salary of an ordinary worker was about 50 to 60 yuan. At that time, it was almost an astronomical figure for me. My wife thought that I was insane when she learned.”

Today despite the offer from private collectors both from home and abroad for several millions of US dollars for “De Heng Duo Zhi Hu,” Xu just replies: “This is a national treasure, and I hope that it will be appreciated by more people for the charm of Chinese culture.”

Xu is now a heritage representative of Shanghai-style purple clay teapot, and the exhibition not only displays teapots made by him in past decades, but also teapots made by his student, Xu Zefeng who tries to fuse a modern flavor into the classical design.

 

Date: Through December 7, 9am-5pm

Venue: PortMix, Hongqiao Import Commodity Exhibition and Trading Center

Address: 9-1 Hall, 2377 Shenkun Rd




 

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