Teapots of the Rich and Cultured

The teapot's shape and style, accompanied by a poem--first written, then carved--is known as 文人壶 (literal translation: cultured person teapot), which became popular during the Ming dynasty among the literati and artists of that era. For the sake of conservatism though, I'll date this to the Qing dynasty. The craftsmanship and quality of zhuni (朱泥) clay are both very fine. The lid in particular holds my affection. There are four words inscribed: 永 eternal (yong3), 乐 happiness (le4), 书 book (shu1), and 康 health (kang1). Everything you could ask for in a life... minus a good cup of tea ;) The poem reads (vertically from right to left): 花香满座客煮茗灯影隔帘人读书 Pinyin by request: hua1 xiang1 man3 zuo4 ke4 zhu3 ming2 deng1 ying3 ge2 lian2 ren2 du2 shu1

Described is a scene where tea being made amidst fragrant flowers and guests, while you see the silhouette of someone reading a book on the other side of a curtain.