A CHINESE YIXING SQUARE TEA JAR
From the kilns of Yixing in Jiangsu province, 18th century
Decorated on each side with vertical panels showing two dragons chasing a pearl amid clouds
on a ground of small meander motifs.
H. 23.5 cm
Note:
Apart from lacking its cover, this tea jar is identical to the one in the collection of the Rijksmuseum which was
a bequest of the widow of J.T.Royer to King William I in 1814 and was transferred to the Rijksmuseum in 1883. Jean Theodore Royer (1737-1807), clerk of the States-General, studied the Chinese language and tried to make a dictionary of Chinese characters largely based on the objects in his collection of Chinese study materials, most of it provided by his friend Ulrich Gualtherus Hemmington, a VOC servant based in Canton. Royer’s collection was formed during the second half of the 18th century. The model is probably based on Dutch pewter examples of tea jars.
A CHINESE YIXING HEXAGONAL TEA JAR
The base with a four-character mark, from the kilns of Yixing in Jiangsu province, 18th century
Decorated on the six sides with panels showing sprays of peonies in low relief on a ground of small meander motifs, on the base an incised four-character inscription, cover lacking.
H. 17.4 x W. 16 cm