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Lot Essay
The exquisite enamelling and precise potting of this teapot are testament to the virtuosity and mastery of the potters at the Imperial kilns during the Qianlong period. Three Qianlong-marked teapots of the same coloured ground and similar motifs are preserved in the National Palace Museum, and were renamed as yangcai wares in the museum’s most recent publication, The Far-Reaching Fragrance of Tea: The Art and Culture of Tea in Asia, Taipei, 2016 (p. 147, no. I-60; p. 149, fig. 1;
p. 158, fig. 1). One of these three teapots was previously from the Summer Palace, with remnants of tea leaves found inside the vessel,
a reminder that these teapots were indeed functional utensils made for Imperial consumption.
It is very rare to find a lobed porcelain teapot such as the current lot. This unusual form is possibly inspired by Kangxi falangcai prototypes, such as two Yixing falangcai enamelled teapots bearing Kangxi yuzhi marks of similar form, now in the National Palace Museum Collection, illustrated in Empty Vessels, Replenished Minds: The Culture, Practice and Art of Tea, Taipei, 2002, nos. 85 and 86.
The intricate decorations on the current teapot convey multiple auspicious messages. ‘Lotus’ provides a homophone for the word for ‘continuity’, and is similar in pronunciation to the word for ‘year’. ‘Bat’ is a homophone to the word ‘blessing’. Hence the combined imagery of lotus and bat borne on scrolls on the current teapot qualifies the wish for ‘May you have endless blessings’.
p. 158, fig. 1). One of these three teapots was previously from the Summer Palace, with remnants of tea leaves found inside the vessel,
a reminder that these teapots were indeed functional utensils made for Imperial consumption.
It is very rare to find a lobed porcelain teapot such as the current lot. This unusual form is possibly inspired by Kangxi falangcai prototypes, such as two Yixing falangcai enamelled teapots bearing Kangxi yuzhi marks of similar form, now in the National Palace Museum Collection, illustrated in Empty Vessels, Replenished Minds: The Culture, Practice and Art of Tea, Taipei, 2002, nos. 85 and 86.
The intricate decorations on the current teapot convey multiple auspicious messages. ‘Lotus’ provides a homophone for the word for ‘continuity’, and is similar in pronunciation to the word for ‘year’. ‘Bat’ is a homophone to the word ‘blessing’. Hence the combined imagery of lotus and bat borne on scrolls on the current teapot qualifies the wish for ‘May you have endless blessings’.