Lot 136. A pair of blue and white inscribed and dated quadrilobed trays, Jiaqing six-character seal marks in underglaze blue and of the period (1796-1820). Longueur: 15,9 cm. (6¼ in.). Estimate EUR 10,000 - EUR 20,000. Price realised EUR 52,500. © Christie's Image Ltd 2020.

L'intérieur de chaque plateau est peint d'une ode impériale au thé bien préparé datée de l'année cyclique dingsi, correspondant à 1797. L'inscription est entourée de bandes de rinceaux feuillagés ponctués de fleurs et le revers est orné de rinceaux et entrelacs.

Provenance: Sotheby's Hong Kong, October 1995, lot 467.

Note: The poem on these dishes was composed by the Jiaqing Emperor who praises the pleasure of drinking tea. It appears on tea trays and teapots of different palettes. S.W. Bushell translates the poem in Oriental Ceramic Art, London, 1981, p. 239, as:

'Finest tribute tea of the first picking
And a bright full moon prompt a line of verse.
A lively fire glows in the bamboo stove,
The water is boiling in the stone griddle,
Small bubbles rise like ears of fish or crab.
Of rare Chi'i-ch'iang (Qi Qiang) tea, rolled into tiny balls,
One cup is enough to lighten the heart,
And dissipate the early winter chill.' 

A comparable pair of trays sold at Christie's London, 15 May 2012, lot 395 and a single tray sold at Christie's New York, 13-14 September 2012, lot 1475.

Christie's. Art d'Asie, Paris, 23 June 2020