Lot Essay
The current vessel represents the pinnacle of jade artistry in the 18th century when large boulders of very fine white jade became readily available after the Qianlong Emperor’s conquest of the Khotan area in 1759 and were worked to perfection befitting the taste of the imperial family. Records can be found in the palace archives in which the Emperor ordered jade teapots to be made. For example according to the Comprehensive Records of Zaobanchu Workshops, on the twenty third day of the second month of Qianlong 33rd year, the Emperor ordered the Palace painting workshop to draw drafts of a jade teapot and jade tea cup, which were then made into wooden samples and sent to the Lianghuai Salt Distribution Commissioner for their production.
A number of jade teapots and wine ewers are in the Palace Museum Collection, Beijing. Compare four examples of differing forms illustrated in Jadeware (III), The Complete Collection of Treasures of The Palace Museum, Hong Kong 1995, pp.257-262, pl. 212-215 (fig. 1); and another two examples illustrated in Compendium of Collections in the Palace Museum – Jade – 10, Beijing, 2011, pls. 132 and 134.
Compare to a white jade tea pot of similar form and size, with plain sides and a similar bud-form finial on the cover, formerly in the collection of T.Y. Chao, sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 18 November 1986, lot 160.
A number of jade teapots and wine ewers are in the Palace Museum Collection, Beijing. Compare four examples of differing forms illustrated in Jadeware (III), The Complete Collection of Treasures of The Palace Museum, Hong Kong 1995, pp.257-262, pl. 212-215 (fig. 1); and another two examples illustrated in Compendium of Collections in the Palace Museum – Jade – 10, Beijing, 2011, pls. 132 and 134.
Compare to a white jade tea pot of similar form and size, with plain sides and a similar bud-form finial on the cover, formerly in the collection of T.Y. Chao, sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 18 November 1986, lot 160.