Lot 3119. A pair of yellow-ground Famille-Rose quatrefoil 'Tea-poem' trays, Seal marks and period of Jiaqing (1796-1820); 6.8 cm., 6 5/8  in. Estimate 700,000 — 900,000 HKD. Lot sold 1,875,000 HKD (241,875 USD). © Sotheby's.

the shallow lobed sides of quatrefoil section, resting on four slightly incurved elongated gilt feet, the interior centred with a quatrefoil panel enclosing an imperial poem pertaining to the preparation of tea and dated to the dingsi year of Jiaqing's reign (corresponding to 1797), all within two bands of scrolling lotus and florets bordering the gilt rim, the exterior similarly decorated with a composite floral scroll band, all the detail picked out in shaded tones of pink, blue and green against a brilliant yellow ground, the yellow base centred with an iron-red six-character seal mark within a white panel, wood stands.

Note: A closely related tray, inscribed with a poem composed by the Jiaqing emperor on the correct preparation of tea, illustrated in Soame Jenyns, Later Chinese Porcelain, London, 1951, pl. CXI, no. 2, was sold in these rooms, 1st November 1974, lot 335.

Jiaqing mark and period dishes of this type are also known painted in underglaze blue; see one included in the exhibitionTreasures of Imperial Porcelain. Official Kiln Porcelain of the Qing Dynasty Collected by Hangzhou Tu Huo Zhai Museum of Antique Ceramics, Zhejiang Provincial Museum, Hangzhou, 2011, cat. no. 146; another, from the collection of Mr and Mrs Albert Nipon of Gladwyne, sold in these rooms, 1st November 1994, lot 168; and a pair, from the George Weishaupt collection, one illustrated in Gunhild Avitabile, From the Dragon's Treasure, London, 1987, pl. 13, sold in our London rooms, 16th October 1995, lot 1. 

Stephen W. Bushell, in Oriental Ceramic Art, London, 1981, p. 239, translates the poem on the bowls as follows: 

Finest tribute tea of the first picking
          And a bright full moon prompts poetry.
          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 Qi Qiang tea, rolled in tony balls.
          One cup is enough to lighten the heart,
          And dissipate the early winter chill.

This poem adorned a variety of teawares and reveals the Jiaqing emperor's enjoyment of tea. 

Dated to the dingsi year of Jiaqing's reign (corresponding to 1797) this poem was written by Jiaqing and adorns a variety of teawares, revealing his appreciation of tea.

Sotheby's. Imperial Porcelain and Works of Art from a Hong Kong Private Collection, Hong Kong, 07 april 2015, 10:15 AM