Lot Essay
This finely molded teapot is very similar to one from the collection of Yao Shiying illustrated by Liang Baiquan in Yixing Purple Clay Ware, Hong Kong, 1991, no. 22, where the author, p. 78, suggests that based on the "form, quality of clay, modelling techniques and style of carving", the teapot might be dated to the Yongzheng period, and not later than the Qianlong period. This would certainly correspond to porcelain versions of this form which bear Yongzheng and Qianlong marks, such as the peachbloom-glazed example with Yongzheng mark in the Palace Museum Collection illustrated in Qing Dai Taoci Daquan, Taipei, 1986, pl. 174 (top), and another, also with Yongzheng mark, sold in these rooms, 4 June 1992, lot 302. A Yongzheng-marked, blue-glazed example was also sold in these rooms, 9-10 November 1981, lot 166. A celadon-glazed example with a Qianlong mark, originally from the J.M. Hu Collection, was sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 2 November 1999, lot 508, from the Robert Chang Collection.