Page 178 - Bonhams Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, Nov 2014 Hong Kong

Joseph Yip and mother 葉先生與母親

the joseph yip collection 葉氏收藏宜興紫砂
of yixing Stoneware
Lots 195 - 207

I met Joseph Yip in 1976 at his antique shop, Jen Po, in downtown 我和葉先生於1976年在三藩市的「Jen Po」號古董店相識。當時我和丈
San Francisco. By that time my husband and I had been collecting 夫對宜興紫砂器的收藏已近三年，並結識了眾多志同道合之士，其中包
Yixing ware for three years and we had friends who shared our 括卡羅貝克漢，卡羅的宜興紫砂收藏現存於加拿大維多利亞藝術館中。
interest. Carol P. Peckham, whose Yixing collection is now at the Art 在卡羅的推薦下，我們結識了來自香港的葉先生，並經常光顧他的商店，
Gallery of Greater Victoria, was a fellow collector who told us about 尋找值得購買的宜興紫砂壺。
this new shop specialising in Yixing ware. We visited Jen Po right
away, and indeed, there were lots of Yixing teapots. The owner was 自葉氏父母1978年移民至三藩市後，我更有幸與葉先生的父親相識，並
Joseph Yip, who came originally from Hong Kong. We struck up a 得知老先生亦鍾愛收藏宜興紫砂壺。葉氏祖父早年在廣東經營茶葉，並
friendship right away and became regular visitors to his shop, buying 在沙面島設商舖。受祖父影響，葉氏後人自小便對宜興茶器情有獨鍾。
teapots whenever we could afford them. 葉先生父親的宜興紫砂器大都於早年在廣東及香港獲得。葉先生父子
因深知我對宜興紫砂研究充滿興趣，便不時邀請我至其官邸欣賞其藏
In 1978 Joseph’s parents moved to San Francisco as immigrants, 品。每次到訪，葉先生都不辭辛勞搬出錦盒為我展示各種紫砂茶壺，其
and I was able to meet his father at the shop. He turned out to be the 中不乏陳鳴遠、陳曼生以及瞿應紹等名家作品。而我個人則對其中一件
one who collected all the teapots. Originally from Canton, Mr. Yip’s 鐵畫軒製紫泥刻牡丹詩文大提梁壺（拍品編號207）以及何心舟製半月
grandfather was in the tea business, having a shop in Shamian. Mr. 壺（拍品編號199）尤為偏愛。葉先生也慷慨將自己的藏品在當地借展，
Yip loved Yixing ware from a young age and it became the focus 我亦有幸將其部分藏品出版，包括於1986年在三藩市中文文化中心以及
of his collecting. His teapots were mainly purchased from Canton 於2010年在太平洋遺產博物館舉辦的私人藏品展。
and Hong Kong. Joseph and his father, knowing my deep interest
in Yixing ware, quickly invited me to their home to view their private 葉先生的宜興紫砂壺珍藏已近七十載，如今希望予以其他宜興紫砂器收
collection. Mr. Yip was a very generous man, both in sharing his 藏家分享。
collection as well as his vast knowledge of Yixing ware. Every time I
visited him, there would always be a large stack of brocade boxes, 謝瑞華
containing teapots I had not seen before. There were teapots by
Chen Mingyuan, Chen Mansheng, Qu Yingshao and other noted
potters. Among my favorites are a Qianlong teapot decorated with
one hundred shou characters; a Tiehua Xuan large teapot (Lot 207);
and the half-tile teapot by He Xinzhou (Lot 199). During the years
the Yips generously allowed me to publish their teapots, and show
them in local exhibitions such as A Matter of Taste: Selected Chinese
Art from California Collections at the Chinese Culture Center of San
Francisco, 1986, and The Art of Tea: China & Beyond at the Pacific
Heritage Museum, 2010.

The Yixing teapots belonging to Joseph Yip were carefully and
lovingly collected over a period of seventy years. Though deeply
attached to his collection, he feels that it is time to share it with other
collectors of Yixing ware.

Terese Tse Bartholomew