A VERY RARE CINNABAR LACQUERED YIXING TEAPOT QING DYNASTY, QIANLONG PERIOD

of compressed globular form, set with a short curved spout opposite a round loop handle, the exterior covered in layers of cinnabar lacquer except for the interior and base exposing the Yixing body, finely carved through the red lacquer layers with the bajixiang amidst scrolling lotus, reserved on a green diaper ground, all below a band of lappets around the rim, the cover similarly carved and set with a circular finial carved with a shou character

The cover with restoration to one leaf and the tip of one bat wing. There is touch up to the spout of the teapot, some minor cracks to the lacquer at the rim and some running at the base of the finial of the cover. There are also some cracks to the lacquer on the base at the joints and to the rim of the cover. There is one small area of lacquer is missing from the side of the teapot.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

This teapot combines two mediums to create a highly original and luxurious vessel that is equally functional. A related cinnabar lacquer and Yixing teapot, with a Qianlong mark and of the period, in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, is illustrated in K.S. Lo, The Stonewares of Yixing from the Ming Period to the Present Day, London, 1986, pl. VII, where the author suggests that lacquered Yixing wares were the product of experiments that followed the somewhat unsuccessful attempts to use famille-rose enamels on Yixing clay, p. 215.

See also a teapot of this type, from the collection of K.S. Lo, included in the exhibition Yixing. Purple Clay Wares, Flagstaff House Museum of Tea Ware, Hong Kong, 1994, cat. no. 35; one, bearing the mark of Shi Dabin, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Zhongguo meishu quanji. Gongyi meishu. Qiqi [Anthology of Chinese art. Decorative arts. Lacquer], vol. 8, Beijing, 1989, pl. 136; and two, with Qianlong marks and of the period, sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, the first, 29th April 2002, lot 534, and the second, 1st December 2010, lot 3097. Compare also a lacquered Yixing teapot, decorated with kui dragons in the qianjin-and-tianqi technique, illustrated in K.S. Lo, op. cit., pl. XXXIX; and another Qianlong mark and period example painted in gilt with chrysanthemum flowers, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Lacquer Wares of the Qing Dynasty, Hong Kong, 2006, pl. 114.

Tea wares were produced in a myriad of media during the Yongzheng and Qianlong reigns, including jade, cloisonné and painted enamel, and porcelain. See for example a jade teapot, of slightly compressed globular form, from the collection of R.L. Liu, included in the exhibition Virtuous Treasures. Chinese Jades for the Scholar’s Table, Art Gallery, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 2008, p. 75; and a painted enamel example decorated with plum blossoms over a cracked-ice ground, in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated in Masterpieces of Chinese Enamel Ware in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1971, pl. 48.