Lot Essay
These kettles and stands were inspired by English silver originals of circa 1720 and were probably made between about 1740 and 1760. The spherical-bodied kettle, which all the Canton enamel ones copy, supercedes a more angular, pear-shaped prototype of circa 1690-1720. For an almost identical European silver original, circa 1725, see Peter Waldron, The Price Guide to Antique Silver, p.316, fig.1,032. See also Christopher Hartop, The Huguenot Legacy, English Silver 1680-1760, pp.294 and 295, no.69 for a kettle, stand and lamp, with hallmarks for London, 1722-3
Occasionally the enamel kettles were decorated with coats-of-arms to match an armorial porcelain tea service. For a very similar example to the present lot, see the kettle exhibited in Chinese Painted Enamels, The China Institute in America, Catalogue, p.32, no.41 (left). Other kettles with different scenes are illustrated by M.Jourdain and R.Soame Jenyns in Chinese Export Art in the Eighteenth Century, p.130, no.114; by S. T. Kjellberg, Svenska Ostindiska Compagnierna, 1731-1813, colour plate opp. p.221; and the examples exhibited in A Tale of Three Cities, Canton, Shanghai & Hong Kong, London, 1997, Catalogue, p.157, no.202; in Chinese Painted Enamels of the 18th Century, The Chinese Porcelain Co., New York, 1993, Catalogue, p.35, no.32; and in Chinese Painted Enamels, M. Gillingham, Catalogue, p.78, no.101. A similar kettle, stand and burner was sold in these Rooms, 30 and 31 March, 1983, lot 496.
Occasionally the enamel kettles were decorated with coats-of-arms to match an armorial porcelain tea service. For a very similar example to the present lot, see the kettle exhibited in Chinese Painted Enamels, The China Institute in America, Catalogue, p.32, no.41 (left). Other kettles with different scenes are illustrated by M.Jourdain and R.Soame Jenyns in Chinese Export Art in the Eighteenth Century, p.130, no.114; by S. T. Kjellberg, Svenska Ostindiska Compagnierna, 1731-1813, colour plate opp. p.221; and the examples exhibited in A Tale of Three Cities, Canton, Shanghai & Hong Kong, London, 1997, Catalogue, p.157, no.202; in Chinese Painted Enamels of the 18th Century, The Chinese Porcelain Co., New York, 1993, Catalogue, p.35, no.32; and in Chinese Painted Enamels, M. Gillingham, Catalogue, p.78, no.101. A similar kettle, stand and burner was sold in these Rooms, 30 and 31 March, 1983, lot 496.