Vintage Chinese Bronze Teapot Featuring Important Mythological Figures

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This is a small bronze teapot featuring two legendary figures in Chinese Mythology in great details. These heroes in Chinese … Read more This is a small bronze teapot featuring two legendary figures in Chinese Mythology in great details. These heroes in Chinese history are seldom art motifs and seldom seen in Chinese arts and crafts today. Having them as decorative motifs on a bronze teapot is a rare occurrence. One side features a bearded caveman like figure running with a large boulder. He is Fuxi, the first mythological emperor of China before dynasty history was written. While the story of Fuxi and the boulder escaped me, Ancient Chinese mythology believes Fuxi helped bring people out of the Stone Age by teaching civilization how to domesticate animals, cast metal, and create laws. The figure on the other side of the teapot is Shennong, also known as the Divine Farmer or Divine Husbandman. He is a legendary Chinese figure, a mythical sage healer and ruler, venerated as a culture hero and deity in Chinese folk religion. He gave great contributions to agriculture, medicine, and herbology. Both figures are placed in garden like settings with trees and bushes.
The teapot is made of bronze, and cast. The seam is visible on the bottom. The teapot has three short legs, small spout and C shaped handle. The weight is considerable and not meant for tea drinking. The maker's mark is stamped on the base.

The teapot was probably made in the late 1970's at the end of the Cultural Revolution. The need for foreign currency prompted the Premier Deng Xiaoping to encouraged artistic productions. Many artistic products were made, some of the trends continue but not so for this bronze teapot. Perhaps the costs of production and the intense labor of preparing the molds for casting are the reasons. See less