Zhou Guizhen
Look first at the dragon-shaped handle and the three feet of AC88.46. This pot introduces Zhou Guizhen through a documented object, then asks a second question: who made the vessel, and who added the writing?
On this page
A handle, three feet and two views#
The 1994 Hong Kong catalogue illustrates 環龍三足刻銘壺 from opposite sides. Follow the handle as it curves towards the shoulder, then notice how the three feet lift the rounded body. These are two views of one pot, AC88.46, not two examples. The catalogue dates it to the 1980s and records height 11.3 cm and width 16.5 cm. It does not define width as body diameter or supply a capacity. Catalogue 90, printed 138 / PDF 144
The maker and the inscriber#
The caption lists the seals 周桂珍 and 桂珍, the latter twice, and assigns the inscription to Shiyu [Shen Hansheng], 石羽（沈漢生）. The name associated with forming the pot and the name credited with its inscription therefore describe different contributions. Do not turn every name on a vessel into another maker.
The body writing can be seen in the two photographs. The seal details, however, are reproduced separately: they do not establish which impression is on the base, under the lid or elsewhere. We retain the catalogue’s readings without proposing new placements or treating a matching mark on another pot as authentication. Caption and detached details
A different museum object#
Aichi Prefectural Ceramic Museum’s supplied record on Art Platform Japan names a separate work by Zhou, 紫砂扁竹堤梁壺, and dates it broadly as contemporary. W1126227 identifies the platform record, not a museum accession. It expands the documented object list beyond the dragon-handled pot; it is not another photograph of AC88.46. The record’s title is retained as supplied. Without an inspected image here, it does not support a detailed visual comparison or a seal-location claim. Aichi collection record
Training, then return to the object#
The national heritage register records her entry into the Yixing Zisha Craft Factory in 1958, study in Wang Yinchun’s class and later study with Gu Jingzhou. This is a sourced training account, not a rule for attributing any unrecorded pot. Training record
Return to AC88.46 and separate three kinds of evidence: the visible shape, the catalogue’s maker and inscriber credits, and the seal readings whose positions remain unspecified. That distinction is more useful than recognising a name alone.
Sources#
- Yixing Purple Clay Wares: The K.S. Lo Collection / 宜興紫砂陶器，香港市政局，1994，ISBN 962-215-124-8
- Art Platform Japan / 愛知県陶磁美術館：周桂珍《紫砂扁竹堤梁壺》
- 中国非物质文化遗产网：周桂珍（代表性传承人05-2720）
Status and editorial notes sources cited
Sources are listed below. Their presence does not certify every claim; source-specific interpretations and unresolved questions are identified in the text. This page has not received independent expert approval.