Teapot with bronze vessel inscriptions

Description

On one side of the teapot is an inscription that corresponds to a Warring States period (ca. 470–221 B.C.) bronze bell inscription from the tomb of the Marquis Yi of Zeng in Suixian, Hubei province. The tomb was excavated after the date of this teapot, indicating that scholars knew and recorded information about the artifacts from the tomb. At the end opposite the spout is a large composite character, incised and colored red. Flanking the composite character is the artist’s inscription, incised in two columns and also colored red. The inscription notes that the characters were incised by Song Yan in the fourth month of 1902.