A fine and very unusual Canton enamel teapot in the form of a peach with gilt-bronze mounts. Qing dynasty, 18th century - Sotheby's

the copper body worked in the form of a large ripe peach and a smaller fruit stacked on top forming a hinged cover, wreathed by a finely cast and incised gilt-bronze leafy stalk forming the gnarled handle and spout, the fruit skin delicately enamelled from pale bright green to rose pink, picked out with a blossoming sprig on the underside and five pale pink fluttering bats, the interior enamelled in pale turquoise; 14 cm., 5 1/2  in. Estimation: 1,500,000 - 2,000,000 HKD - Lot. Vendu 1,840,000 HKD

NOTE: This piece is notable for its naturalistic simulation of a peach which has been achieved through fine enamelling and delicate metalwork. A similar Canton enamel winepot and cover, but cast with an overhead handle in the form of a twig with two leaves and the pot painted with additional insects and flowers, was offered in our London rooms, 27thJanuary 1976, lot 6.

Compare also a waterpot of related form and decoration with a four-character Yongzheng reign mark in black enamel on the base and attributed to the Beijing palace workshops, from the Qing Court collection and still in Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Metal-bodied Enamel Ware, Hong Kong, 2002, pl. 194, and included in the exhibition, China. The Three Emperors 1662-1795, Royal Academy of Arts, London, 2005, cat. no. 295.

Sotheby's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art. Hong Kong | 08 avr. 2013 - www.sothebys.com