- 3049
A Very Rare and Finely Enamelled Pair of Famille-Rose 'Tea Poem' Bowls and Covers Seal Marks and Period of Jiaqing
Description
Provenance
Sotheby's London, 10th November 2010, lot 297.
Condition
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."
Catalogue Note
Stephen W. Bushell, in Oriental Ceramic Art, London, 1981, p. 239, translates the poem on the bowls as follows:
Finest tribute tea of the first picking
And a bright full moon prompt a line of verse.
A lively fire glows in the bamboo stove.
The water is boiling in the stone griddle,
Small bubbles rise like ears of fish or crab.
Of rare Ch’i-ch’iang tea, rolled in tony balls.
One cup is enough to lighten the heart,
And dissipate the early winter chill.
This poem adorned a variety of teawares and reveals the Jiaqing emperor’s enjoyment of tea. For a teapot and lobed dish, similarly enamelled on a lime-green ground, but with floral scrolls, in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, see the Museum’s exhibition Empty Vessels, Replenished Minds. The Culture, Practice and Art of Tea, 2001, cat. nos. 169 and 170, together with a ruby-ground lobed dish, cat. no. 171.
Dated to the dingsi year of Jiaqing’s reign (corresponding to 1797) this poem was written by Jiaqing and adorned a variety of teawares which reveals his enjoyment of tea; see a teapot and lobed dish, similarly enamelled on a lime-green ground but with floral scrolls, in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, included in the Museum’s exhibition Empty Vessels, Replenished Minds. The Culture, Practice and Art of Tea, 2001, cat. nos 169 and 170, together with a ruby-ground lobed dish, cat. no. 171.
Bowls of this type were created under the Qianlong Emperor who was also particularly fond of tea-drinking. He is recorded to have made tea with freshly fallen snow on his return from visiting Mount Wutai. Made with Longjing tea leaves, prunus blossoms, pine nut kernels and finger citrus, the brew inspired Qianlong to compose a poem in praise of the tea, entitled San Qing Cha (Three Purities Tea), which was inscribed onto tea vessels of various media, including porcelain, lacquer and jade; for example see a spinach green jade bowl, the poem carved and picked out in gold, sold in our New York rooms, 26th February 1982, lot 471, and again in these rooms, 8th April 2013, lot 3009; and a blue and white example included in the Special Exhibition of K'ang-hsi, Yung-cheng and Ch'ien-lung Porcelain Ware from the Ch'ing Dynasty in the National Palace Museum, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1986, cat. no. 142.