18th century, signed Hui Yigong|Together with: a dark brown clay teapot and cover enamelled with butterflies amongst lotuses and peonies; a purple clay square pear-shaped vase with magpie and prunus to one side, a bat and rocks to the other; an enamelled lobed vessel on stand, the interior and base with crackle glaze, the exterior with floral designs; a pair of cups with calligraphy and turquoise glazed interior; a dark brown saucer with landscape medallions, and a dark brown tea bowl and saucer with three blue enamels.|The Yigong teapot: 10.2cm (4in) wide. (12).|Provenance: the dark brown enamelled teapot purchased from Armand Antiques, 19 July 1984 (collector's note).The melon-shaped bowl and stand, acquired in Portobello road in May-June 1977 (collector's note).The dark brown clay vase purchased from Valerie Coins, London, 25 April 1973 (collector's note).Hui Yigong was a famous Yixing potter and artist active in the early 18th century, whose practice mainly focussed on small pots for tea connoisseurs after the works of famous late Ming Yixing potter Hui Mengchen. K.S. Lo, in his 'The Stonewares of Yixing from the Ming Period to the Present Day', states that 'the shapes and styles of potting favoured by the two men are so similar that people referred to them as the two 'Huis'' (p. 84). Apparently this also stimulated speculation over whether the two had been related as uncle and nephew (ibid.). Indeed, a miniature teapot of almost identical form and decoration, by Hui Mengchen, is illustrated by K.S. Lo, 'The Stonewares of Yixing from the Ming Period to the Present Day', Sotheby's Publications and Hong Kong University Press, Hong Kong and U.S.A., 1986, p.73, pl.16. Hui Yigong's teapots are illustrated in the same publication, p. 81-82, pl. 22 and 23.