NEW YORK, NY.- It’s the little things of daily life–material culture it’s called–that can make collecting a joy. Among the Chinese arts, Zisha teapots and seals reflect a dedication to form that has appealed to Western civilizations since before the Portuguese arrived in the 18th century. Deep collections of both highlight Gianguan Auctions June 10 sale.

Highlights of the Zisha (purple clay) teapots include works by 20th Century maker Gu Jingzhou who was named a Master of Industrial Arts by China’s government. Several years ago, a 1948 Jingzhou teapot reached $2M USD at auction.

Lot 159, for example, bears three of his artist’s marks. It is a tall bamboo reed pot with a mouse finial and a caterpillar spout. The pre-sale estimate is upwards of $5,000. Lot 166, with five Gu Jingzhou, artist marks is compact and decorated with ruyi. It has a snub snout and generous curved handle. Bidding starts at $800.

Lot 167, by Yang Youlan is incised with a poem and pine and crane motif. It has two artist’s marks, and will fetch about $500.

Several Qing Dynasty tea pots prove their durability with style. Lot 274, for instance, has a round high profile and is decorated with lotus leaves and quatrefoil birds amid foliage. Lot 275, a burnished reddish-brown pot of medium profile by Yongfang has a domed lid and a Buddhist lion finial while its body is decorated with lions at play and the shou symbol. It is carries the Kangxi imperial dragon mark. Lot 276 has an unusual relief carved cloth wrapper and the artist mark of Li Huifang.

Lot 169, another Qing offering, shows a sense of humor. The spirited pig shaped pot with a coin spout is, overall, upbeat and fun. It bears the Qianlong six charter mark. Like most of the Qing Zisha teapot properties, it is expected to go off at less than $1,000.

On a different note, the collection of Chinese seals (a favorite of businessmen and scholars) ranges from spare stone columns of shoushan and icy furong to carved free-form stones. For example, Lot 93, a furlong stone columnar seal by Qing artist Wu-Kai, has a dragon-tortoise knop, and is dated 1831. Lots 90 and 96 are substantial tianghuang square pedestals with qilin atop. Of rich golden color, the hefty seals run $600 to $2,500.

Notable among the scholars’ objects is a massive songhua stone square double ink-well with a double grinding surface and recessed water pools, reminiscent of Double-Happiness. It is inscribed with a four-character seal in Manchurian and Han Characters Seal Script: Huang Di Zhi Bao, Imperial Treasure. It is Lot 278, expected to command upwards of $2,000.

Finally, a songhua eggplant-form Inkstone similar to one in the Palace Museum at Taipei is crafted with has curly vines, tendrils and leaves. There is an eye at the grinding surface and the small well, forming the sun and moon. Of the Qing Dynasty, it is 7” long, signed Miao Quan Sun, and carries the inscription: As Immutable as Stone. It is Lot 279. Bidding begins at $3,000.

For details on the Zisha teapots, Chinese seals and other properties in the June 10 sale at Gianguan Auctions, please refer to the online catalog at www.gianguanauctions.com.