A superb and rare turquoise-ground famille rose lobed teapot and cover, Qianlong six-character seal mark and of the period

Lot 3007. A superb and rare turquoise-ground famille rose lobed teapot and cover, Qianlong six-character seal mark in iron red and of the period (1736-1795); 6 ¾ in. (17.3 cm.) across. Estimate HKD 10,000,000 - HKD 15,000,000 (USD 1,280,576 - USD 1,920,864). Unsold. © Christie's Images Ltd 2018

The body of the teapot is finely moulded into six lobes, delicately decorated on each side with a large lotus blossom borne on scrolls, interlinked with a pale blue bat above, ruyi-head below, and smaller camellias on the sides, all against a soft pale turquoise ground. The spout and handle are similarly decorated with florettes borne on scrolls, the top of the handle picked out with the head of an archaistic dragon. The domed cover has a similarly lobed rim, decorated with four lotus blooms, surmounted by a bud finial painted with gilt overlapping petals against an iron-red ground. The interiors and base are applied with turquoise enamel. The rims are gilt; box. 

Provenance: Sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 5 November 1996, lot 882
Sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 8 October 2013, lot 3034

Note: 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.