清乾隆 御製白玉雕菊花紋茶壺QIANLONG PERIOD (1736-1795)清乾隆 御製白玉雕菊花紋茶壺7 ¼ (18.5 cm.) wideTea drinking has a long history in China - remnants of tea leaves dating to as early as the Warring States, 2300 years ago, were discovered in a burial of the Zhu Kingdom, showing how deep rooted and resilient Chinese tea culture is. Many of Chinese emperors were tea enthusiasts, with Emperors Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong being some of the most notable. Kangxi loved tea, Yongzheng regarded it as a treasure, and Qianlong was second to none in his dedication to tea culture. The Imperial workshop made many tea vessels in a variety of materials during their reigns, such as in pottery, porcelain, jade, enamel, and glass. However, teapots made from top quality Khotan jade in the Qianlong period were the most precious of all. Chinese lapidary skills were well developed by the Qing period, and reached a zenith under the Qianlong emperor, who was a jade aficionado. Jade teapots were some of the most difficult to make, requiring top quality material coupled with a mastery of lapidary skills, including the hollowing of the interior and the spout, therefore few examples dated to the Qianlong period remain. Jade wares were considered objects of virtue by a Chinese gentleman, and constitute an important part of the display at Qing court. Jade teapots are not only beautiful works of art for the emperor’s appreciation, they also add a new dimension to the tea drinking experience. The current jade teapot is carved from a large piece of top quality jade material, with large areas left plain to showcase the quality of the stone. The finial is carved in the form of a coiled dragon, a classic motif found on imperial jade cavings. The two sides of the body are highlighted by chrysanthemum sprays, carved subtly in shallow relief, and ingeniously using the russet skin of the boulder as colour of the petals. Rectangular jade teapots were produced in the Ming imperial court, and gained popularity in the early Qing Dynasty, influenced by the forms of Yixing teapots. Compare a jade teapot with square section in the collection of the National Palace Museum, which is illustrated by Liao Baoxiu in Chayun mingshi, Gugong chahua, Taipei, 2010, p. 161, no. 11 and p. 178, no. 11. For jade vessels with similar dragon-form finials, see the archaistic white jade censer and cover in the Palace Museum, Beijing illustrated in Jadeware III, Hong Kong, 1995, no. 149, 156. In one of Tang poet Wang Changling’s poems, he uses the jade teapot as the symbol of integrity. Thereafter for the Chinese literati, jade teapots have transcended their material value to become an ideal of virtue. Pure and elegant, gently gleaming yet strong, these are qualities one should strive for, and are clearly visible on the current teapot.The present teapot and cover was in the collection of E.J.C. Vint. Edward John CyrilVint was born May 14, 1894 in Bradford at Richmond House. Richmond House was home to a family of collectors and they were a well established family in the wool trade. After returning from the trenches of the First War he moved to Worcestershire where he established a successful fruit farm and it was here from about 1937 onwards that he really started his collection of Jades, having already established an important collection of Ivory and Amber.Details AN EXQUISITE IMPERIAL WHITE JADE TEAPOT AND COVERQIANLONG PERIOD (1736-1795)The teapot is of a tapering rectangular section supported on a conforming low waisted foot. It is delicately carved in shallow relief to each side with blossoming peony branches below a lipped rim, flanked by an angular spout and rounded handle. The tiered cover is surmounted by a reticulated dragon-form finial. The stone is of an even creamy white tone.7 ¼ (18.5 cm.) wide Provenance Messrs. Spink & Son, London, November 1943E.J.C. Vint (1894-1971)Sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 3 December 2008, lot 2604 Conditions of sale