Page 26 - Sotheby's Imperial Chiense Porcelain Nov 4 2020 London

This brilliantly enamelled teapot illustrates the continued The art of tea drinking represented a shared passion for
influence of the Qianlong Emperor at court after his the Qianlong and Jiaqing emperors, as attested by the
abdication in 1796 and even after his death in 1799. Its numerous poems they both composed on the subject.
form, meticulously painted decoration and composition The imperial kilns at Jingdezhen produced significant
follows the ornate style developed at the imperial kilns amounts of teawares for the court, including teapots,
in Jingdezhen that catered to the Qianlong’s taste of the cups and covered bowls, as well as trays. While the year
ornate. The poetic inscription was also composed by the after the death of Qianlong, the Jiaqing Emperor decreed
then retired Qianlong Emperor on the 10th lunar month that porcelain teawares should no longer be inscribed
of 1797. Titled ‘Brewing Tea’, the poem is collected in the with poems composed by his father, the large quantity
First Anthology of Imperial Poetry, has been translated by of extant examples suggests that they continued to be
S.W. Bushell as follows: produced. An entry in the court archives from the 10th
year of the reign, lists the order of five pairs of famille-
Finest tribute tea of the first picking
And a bright full moon prompt a line of verse rose teapots, with imperial poems in iron red, most likely
A lively fire glows in the bamboo stove, this type, that were to be presented at court and sent to
The water is boiling in the stone griddle, the Yuanmingyuan (Garden of Perfect Brightness).
small bubbles rise like ears of fish or crab. Teapots of this form and covered in this brilliant lime-
Of rare Ch’i-Ch’iang tea, rolled in tiny balls, green glaze are rare, and only two closely related
one cup is enough to lighten the heard, examples are known: a teapot in the National Palace
And dissipate the early winter chill. Museum, Taipei, included in the Museum’s exhibition The
(S.W. Bushell, Oriental Ceramic Art, London, 1981, p. Far-Reaching Fragrance of Tea. The Art and Culture of Tea
239). in Asia, Taipei, 2015, cat. no. I-71, with its inscribed tray,
cat. no. I-72; and another example sold in these rooms,
Approaching the 60th year of the reign, in an act of filial 6th December 1994, lot 212. These teapots would have
piety towards his father, the Kangxi Emperor, who had been used together with a tray and a cups or covered
reigned 61 years, Qianlong abdicated the throne to his bowls. See for example the lime green-ground tray
fifteenth son, prince Aisin Gioro Yongyan, who became inscribed with this poem in the National Palace Museum,
the Jiaqing Emperor. Prior to the abdication, the court included ibid., cat. no. I-72; and a pair of green-ground
began to plan the transfer of imperial power and in 1796 covered bowls, sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 8th April
Qianlong adopted the title Taishang Huang (Emperor 2014, lot 3049.
Emeritus). However, instead of moving to his newly-
built retirement compound, Ningshougong, Qianlong The form and design of this teapot was replicated in other
remained in his old quarters, from where he actively colour ground and in blue and white: a yellow-ground
administered the empire. The Jiaqing Emperor, who had example is published in Geng Baocheng, Selection of
a vastly different personality to that of his father, gained Plates of Porcelain Wares collected by Jin Ming, 1994, p.
control over state affairs only after the death of Qianlong 210; and a blue and white teapot in the National Palace
in 1799. A highly-educated and talented poet, Jiaqing Museum, Taipei, included in the Museum’s exhibition
was exemplary in his moral rectitude. He sought to Lord Jiaqing and the Journey to Taiwan: A Cultural
administer his reign according to Confucian philosophy, Exhibition of the Cultural Artefacts of the Qing Emperor
and therefore advocated for diligence and frugality and Renzong, Taipei, 2016, cat. no. III-37.
filial piety.

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