Page 38 - CHRISTIE'S Marchant Nine Decades of Chinese Art 09/14/17

MARCHANT: NINE DECADES IN CHINESE ART

707 A VERY RARE LONGQUAN CELADON spout, a domed cover and dated to the Ming dynasty, but
TEAPOT AND COVER with a more rounded handle, is illustrated in K. S. Lo
Collection in the Flagstaff House Museum of Tea Ware, Part 1,
MING DYNASTY, 15TH-16TH CENTURY Hong Kong, 1984, p. 70, no. 43.

The globular body is carved with a continuous foral scroll The present teapot can also be compared to two blue and
above lappets at the foot. The arched handle and short, white teapots included in the exhibition at the National
curving spout are of square section and carved with classic Palace Museum, Taipei, Empty Vessels, Replenished Minds:
scroll, and the domed cover is also carved with scrolls and The Culture, Practice and Art of Tea, Taipei, 2002, one
geometric bands beneath a bud fnial. The teapot and cover illustrated on p. 95, no. 74, and dated to the Longqing
are covered with a rich sea-green-toned glaze. period (1567-1572), with an upright handle, rounded sides
8æ in. (22.3 cm) high, Japanese wood box and a domed cover, and the other illustrated on
p. 96, no. 75, dated to the Wanli period (1573-1619),
$40,000-60,000 with a humpback upright handle and a square-section
spout similar to the present example.
PROVENANCE
明十五/十六世紀 龍泉青釉花卉紋茶壺
Nobehara Family Collection, Osaka, Japan.

The form of this teapot is extremely rare. A related carved
teapot, but lacking a cover, dated to the 16th century, is
illustrated in Chinese Celadons and Other Related Wares in
Southeast Asia, Singapore, 1979, pp. 254-55, pl. 207, no.
250. Another related teapot, also with a square-section

(another view)
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