A very rare white jade teapot and cover, Yuyong mark and period of Jiaqing | 清嘉慶 白玉刻仿古紋活環鈕蓋壺 《嘉慶御用》款

Christie's Hong Kong, 29th May 2007, lot 1419.

香港佳士得2007年5月29日，編號1419

Impeccably articulated from luminous white jade of the most superlative quality, the present teapot and cover is highly unusual in its form. The imperial jade lapidary artist chose to display the fine translucent quality of the jade stone as the principal element, enhanced by the finely carved shallow relief motifs restricted to the short and gently upturned spout – demonstrating both the superb quality of the previous jade stone and technical craftsmanship of the carver.

Despite checking carefully the Qing court inventory, the number of jade teapots was extremely limited, corroborating the difficulty in conjuring a fine jade teapot. Among the small number of recorded examples are one green jade 'lotus' teapot and cover preserved in the Western Warmth Chamber, and a celadon jade 'melon' covered ewer in the Hall of Mental Cultivation. It is also extremely rare to find jade teapots carved with yuyong (by imperial command) marks, see a related white jade lobed teapot with a rams-head spout, also inscribed with the reign mark, Jiaqing yuyong, from the Qing court collection, now in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in the Compendium of Collections in the Palace Museum: Jade, vol. 10, Anhui, 2011, no. 125.

此壺形制非常特別，選取上乘和田玉料，玉質透亮勻淨、溫潤如脂。作為上等和田玉料，工匠刻意在壺身大部分留白不加雕刻，配合近壺流處精湛的淺浮雕以及優雅的壺身造型，更顯示宮廷御用玉雕非凡不俗的品味。

觀清宮陳設檔案，雖有錄玉壺，但數目甚少，可見此類玉壺製作之艱難。唯見光緒年間檔案載西暖閣貯「青玉蓮花式有蓋壺壹件」，養心殿又存「青白玉瓜瓞有蓋執壺一件」。北京故宮博物院清宮舊藏一件白玉瓜棱形羊首提樑壺，亦刻有「嘉慶御用」四字隸屬款，見《故宮博物院藏品大系：玉器編》，卷10，安徽，2011年，編號125。