Page 108 - The Parry Collection Bonhams London November 2 2021

Fig.7 Fig.8 Fig.9

the ‘Thousand Character Essay’ . So the Qianqing Palace that three painted enamel copper-body teapots were made.
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was assigned the character ‘tian’ (heaven) and the Shoukang This type of vague record is common in the Qing Archives and
Palace was assigned the character ‘que’ (watch tower). The so far, no experts or scholars have clarified this shorthand style
Yangxin Hall or ‘Hall of Mental Cultivation’ was assigned of recording. Nevertheless, the fact remains that based on
the character ‘lü’ (pitch). The Yangxin Hall is located in the the evidence, a pair of painted enamel melon-shaped teapots
west of the Forbidden City. From the time of the Yongzheng were placed in the Qianqing Palace. We therefore know that
Emperor to the Xuantong Emperor, this was the place where three painted enamel teapots were made in the Third year
the Emperor handled government affairs, met with ministers of the Qianlong reign, corresponding to 1738, which could
and rested, and was essentially the political centre of the possibly refer to the teapots in the Parry Collection, the Palace
Qing dynasty. The painted enamel melon-shaped teapot Museum, Taipei and The Nelson-Atkins Museum, Kansas City.
with the lu character in the Taipei Palace Museum was in the The exceptional similarities between the three teapots, yet
Yangxin Hall at the time of compiling the list in 1925. However, with some variation in the design between the Parry and the
it is unknown as to when prior to 1925, the Palace Museum, other two, suggest that the Parry teapot may be the first teapot
Taipei teapot, which was originally stored in the Qianqing made, with the other two made subsequently as decreed by
Palace in the Fifth year of Qianlong’s reign, was moved to the Qianlong Emperor.
the Yangxin Hall. With regard to the Nelson-Atkins Museum
teapot, we only know that it was acquired for the museum in This painted enamel melon-shaped teapot was collected
1950 from the well-known dealer C.T. Loo & Co., New York. by the Parry family, important collectors of Chinese art in
England. Mrs Parry purchased the teapot from the London
Finally, the most difficult problem to solve is when exactly antique dealers Spink & Son Ltd., on 30th September 1925
the painted enamel melon-shaped teapot was made in the when it was illustrated in their catalogue, and it has since
Qianlong reign? The author has combed through the Qing been kept in the family. The teapot was then exhibited in the
Archives from the First year of the Qianlong reign (1736) to Royal Academy of Arts, International Chinese Art Exhibition,
the Fifth year. Importantly, only one record comes close to held at Burlington House, London from 1935 to 1936. This
giving us the answer: was the largest and most influential exhibition of Chinese
The Third year of Qianlong, Enamel Workshop. On the art in the 20th century. Moreover, it was the first large-scale
Eighteenth day of the Third month, chief Wu Shu said that the exhibition of ancient Chinese cultural treasures overseas.
eunuch Mao Tuan presented a small painted enamel copper The number of exhibits was unprecedented, with a total
body teapot. The Decree was passed that another pair should of 3,080 pieces of Chinese cultural relics from public and
be made according to this. By order of the Emperor. private collections from 15 countries including China, Great
Britain, France, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, Greece,
On the Twenty-seventh of the of the Twelfth month of this the Netherlands, Austria, Belgium, Spain, Japan, and the
year, chief Wu Shu presented the pair of small painted enamel United States. At that time, 1022 treasures from the Palace
teapots and the model to eunuch Mao Tuan for inspection. Museum, Academia Sinica, Peking Library, Henan Museum,
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The record, however, does not describe the shape of the pots, Anhui Library and other collections were selected to be
exhibited in the UK. Among them, the collections of the
nor the style or decoration. The information is rather scant; just

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