Lot Essay
The lotus-petal form and the blue glaze on this rare teapot may have been inspired by earlier Ming examples such as the blue-glazed Xuande-marked teapot and cover in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated in Porcelain of the National Palace Museum, Monochrome Ware of the Ming Dynasty, Hong Kong, 1968, p. 68, plates 10-10d. Later, in the Qing dynasty, the stout, compressed shape (without petals) can be found on Yixing wares with imperial marks. See two Yixing examples in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum - Purple Sandy Ware, Beijing, 2008, p. 28, no. 22 (Qianlong mark) and p. 54, no. 41 (Jiaqing mark).