AN EXCEPTIONALLY RARE AND IMPORTANT IMPERIAL BEIJING ENAMEL MELON-SHAPED TEAPOT AND COVER

Qianlong blue enamel four-character mark and of the period

Qianlong blue enamel four-character mark and of the period
The elegant lobed panels each exquisitely enamelled with various scenes of mountainous or lakeside landscapes and flowers with butterflies and insects, all on a dappled light-blue ground, separated by pink bands of floral scrolls and between ruyi-shaped borders at the foot and shoulder, set with a gilt-bronze handle issuing at each end from a dragon head, the curved gilt-bronze spout also issuing from a dragon head, the domed and lobed cover decorated with further floral motifs and fishermen and sages within mountainous landscapes, separated by scrolling acanthus leaves, reserved on a rich yellow ground, surmounted by a gilt-bronze finial, the mark on the base surrounded by a painted mythical beast, with a zitan stand.
15cm (5 7/8in) long. (3).

清乾隆 御製畫琺瑯瓜棱式壺
「乾隆年製」楷書款

Provenance:
Spink & Son Ltd., London
Mrs E. A. Parry (1879-1977), London, acquired from the above on 30 September 1925, and thence by descent

Published, Illustrated and Exhibited:
Spink & Son Ltd., A Selection of Oriental Works of Art, London, circa 1925, p.38
Royal Academy of Arts, International Exhibition of Chinese Art, London, 1935-1936, p.187, no.2191.

來源：
倫敦古董商Spink & Son Ltd.
倫敦E. A. Parry夫人（1879-1977）舊藏，於1925年9月30日購自上者，並由後人保存迄今

展覽著錄：
Spink & Son Ltd.，《A Selection of Oriental Works of Art》，倫敦，約1925年，頁38
皇家藝術學院，《中國藝術國際展覽會》，倫敦，1935-1936年，頁169，編號2191

This present teapot is the only known example of this unique form and type to remain in a private collection. It is one of only three examples known, with the other two in museum collections: the first is in the collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated by H.Chen, Enamel Ware in the Ming and Ch'ing Dynasties, Taipei, 1999, pp.224-225, no.114; and the second is in the collection of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri (acc.no.50-24.1,2), which was purchased for the museum in 1950 by the William Rockhill Nelson Trust from C.T. Loo & Co., New York. The National Palace Museum, Taipei teapot and the Nelson-Atkins Museum one are both identically decorated and with very similar dragon handle and spout, however they all slightly differ, as well as the Parry one, in the form of the finial on the cover.

Importantly, a pair of similar melon-shaped teapots, are both recorded in the Zaobanchu gezuo chengzuo huaji qingdang 'Archives of the Workshop of the Qing Imperial Household Department' (for a full discussion see the essay by Zhang Rong, Palace Museum, Beijing). An Imperial Decree by the Qianlong Emperor, dated to the second day of the fifth month of the fifth year of his reign (corresponding to 24th May 1740) states:

In the fifth year of the Qianlong reign, Qianqing Palace, on the second day of the fifth month, Chief commissioner Samuha of the seventh rank said that the eunuch Gao Yu and others presented two painted enamel melon-lobed teapots. The decree was passed, and the matching case was placed in the Qianqing Palace with the enamel vessels. By order of the Emperor.

An earlier Archival record, dated to the third year of the Qianlong reign, corresponding to 1738, records that a single enamel teapot was made and a further pair was subsequently made by order of the Emperor.

The Third year of Qianlong, Enamel Workshop. On the Eighteenth day of the Third month, chief Wu Shu said that the eunuch Mao Tuan presented a small painted enamel copper body teapot. The Decree was passed that another pair should be made according to this. By order of the Emperor.
On the Twenty-seventh of the of the Twelfth month of this year, chief Wu Shu presented the pair of small painted enamel teapots and the model to eunuch Mao Tuan for inspection.

This extraordinary Imperial Archival records proves that the Parry teapot, the National Palace Museum, Taipei one and the Nelson-Atkins Museum example, were made in the Beijing Imperial Enamel Workshop early in the Qianlong reign, and indeed this select group demonstrates direct continuity of style from the preceding Yongzheng period. It also demonstrates that they were made as a special commission for the use of the Qianlong Emperor, and that they deserved his personal attention. The record also provides us with the location for two teapots, as decreed by the Qianlong Emperor - the Qianqing Palace, in the Forbidden City, Beijing, where other treasured objects were kept by the Emperor. As noted by Zhang Rong in her essay in this Catalogue, it is interesting to note that that the National Palace Museum, Taipei teapot has a collection number from the stock taking in 1925, locating it at the time in the Yangxin Hall, 'Hall of Mental Cultivation'.

This important teapot was included in the International Exhibition of Chinese Art held at the Royal Academy of Arts, Burlington House, London, in 1935-1936. This seminal exhibition had the patronage of their Majesties King George V and Queen Mary, and the President of the Chinese Republic. It included over 3,000 objects, with important loans from the Chinese Government, and many worldwide museums and private collections, notably that of Sir Percival David – the roll call of the greatest collectors of Chinese art in the west in the 20th century. E.A. Parry loaned 6 pieces to the Exhibition, demonstrating the superb quality of the Collection and the high esteem in which it was held by the exhibition committee, which was directed by Sir Percival David. These pieces were admired to this date in the Parry family homes and this is the first time since the 1935-1936 Exhibition that they are seen in public once again. The painted enamel section in the catalogue included about 20 exhibits, two of which belonged to E.A. Parry, including the present teapot.

Notable for its elegant form, the exquisite painterly enamelled decoration and the perfect combination of opulent decoration and technical perfection, conveyed by the juxtaposition of polychrome enamels, including Imperial yellow richly decorating the cover, and the meticulous attention to detail devoted to the decorative designs, make the present teapot an exceptionally rare outstanding example of the Imperial Workshops in Beijing during the early years of the celebrated Qianlong period.

The technique of enamelling on metal was first introduced in Guangzhou by Jesuit missionaries around 1684. Beginning from the reign of the Kangxi Emperor and throughout the reign of the Qianlong Emperor, however, more artisans were sent to Beijing to set up the Imperial Workshops. The manufacturing process usually began by coating the metal object with a white 'glaze' similar to that used on porcelain. The vessel was then fired at low temperature, which secured the enamel to the metal body. Decorators then applied the design in coloured enamels and the piece was fired again at low temperatures. The final stage involved the gilding of the rims where the copper was left exposed. Referred to as yangcai or 'foreign enamel' as it was initially imported from Europe, the enamelling pigments started being produced in China from around 1728, with the creation of opaque white enamel.

In Qing Palace records, painted enamel was categorised into enamel painting on gold, silver, copper, enamel painting on Yixing stoneware, enamel painting on porcelain and even enamel painting on glass. The Imperial Household Workshops, Zaobanchu, of the Qing dynasty were established in the Hall of Mental Cultivation, Yangxindian, during the Kangxi reign. The 'Records of the Various Imperial Household Workshops', Zaobanchu gezuocheng zao huoji qingdang, begun in 1723 and continued up to 1911, faithfully recording the names, places of origin, times of creation, formats, materials, manufacturing processes and even the edicts associated with them.

By the 18th century, the craft of enamelling on metal had reached perfection with forms and designs reflecting the Emperor's extravagant and opulent taste. During the early decades of the Qianlong reign, no expense was spared in developing the Palace Enamelling Workshops using a wide range of subjects. The Qianlong Emperor not only demanded technical perfection but was willing to expend considerable sums in order to obtain innovative and artistically superior pieces.

Teapots reserved for use by the Emperor and high-ranking members of the Court were made in various forms, including globular and lobed shapes, and the decoration ranged from floral shrubs, 'cracked prunus' designs, flower heads, mythical creatures, to European subjects and landscape scenes, many of which were inspired by the painting production of the time.

The various decorative elements depicted on the present vessel ingeniously combine Chinese and European traditions and innovations, exhibiting total technical control and superb artistry accomplished by the Qianlong-period enamellers at their zenith. This can be seen in the remarkable richness and variety of the enamel colours evident in the wide variety, ranging from bright yellow tone, various shades of pink, red and blue, turquoise and brown-black. Additionally, the European influence, through the involvement of Jesuit painters in the Imperial Workshops, as well as the influence derived from European works of art given to the Court, is evident in the landscape scenes, as well as in decorative motifs such as the elaborate curling fronds.

In addition, the tiny pale blue speckles on the landscapes depicted in the cartouches display the stippling technique which can also be seen on Western enamelled vessels. This artistic device created a gradation of shade or colour through the application of a multitude of tiny dots, which allowed for wide variation in intensity of colour without constantly changing the saturation of the enamel; see Shi Jingfei, Radiant Luminance: The Painted Enamelware of the Qing Imperial Court, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 2012.

The melon form of the present teapot appears, however, to have...