Trying to identify a Yixing Teapot, need help
I have found a yixing teapot at a consignment store in the US, and despite the usual advice of "assume it to be bootleg," it seems to be handmade, and from yixing clay.
However, I am having trouble ascertaining identity beyond "yep that's a handmade clay teapot." It has some bamboo motifs that do not seem to fit in any of the online examples I have found concerning teapot shapes, and I have also had trouble in identifying the 3 makers marks present on the teapot. The marks themselves are under the lid, under the main body, and at the 'root' of the handle. Took pictures at multiple orientations for lighting purposes, and frankly, because idk which side is "up" for the characters. I have also included some images to indicate that it's made from clay, and that it's handmade, or at the very least not something pulled from a mold. The black and white and red flecks in the up close shots, the grooves in the bottom interior of the pot indicate it was made with hand tools, no dimples in the interior wall facing the handle to indicate use of a mold, as well as the bamboo branch 'loops' themselves all indicate to me that this had to be made by hand.
Link to the album to the teapot in question: https://ibb.co/album/Zp9BnC
It's a nice mystery to have. I can't imagine it to be anything worthy of a museum, the bamboo motifs certainly do make it seem like it's something quite special, however they also make it hard to discern what the exact geometry of the pot to be when looking at a chart like this: https://www.cnteaspirit.com/shapes-of-yixing-teapot-the-ultimate-guide/ (the closest I think is "Fang Gu" but it could easily be the "Zhu Gu" or "Zhu Duan" special forms, due to the bamboo). I have not seen any bamboo branch loops in any of the examples I have found, so my curiosity is piqued even more.
I am curious to see what anyone can make out of the translations!
Heh... in doing some searching online i stumbled upon a subreddit dedicated to yixing identification and then found you posted there already lol. Looks like some of the comments there did potentially provide some info or at least were able to determine the characters and who they potentially refer to (if genuine).
One comment said the bottom is 壺中一怪, the lid is 王一怪, and supposedly that bottom seal is linked to a potter by the name of 王銘東 (Wang Mingdong?) and a reply to it shows another pot that matches that bottom seal.
Whether it's genuine or not it does seem to match the style of Wang Mingdong - "while making decorative teapots, he uses lifelike cane branches as well as vivid and spreading leaves to create natural effects"