Monkey teapot
Porcelain and enamels, J.J. Kändler (modeller), Meissen, Germany, ca.1735
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Monkey teapot
Porcelain and enamels, J.J. Kändler (modeller), Meissen, Germany, ca.1735
The Chitra Collection is an extraordinary private museum of historic teawares. In 2011 Nirmal Sethia, the Chairman of the luxury tea company, Newby Teas, set himself the task of acquiring the world’s greatest collection of teawares to record and preserve tea cultures of the past. Today, the collection, named in honour of his late wife, Chitra, totals almost 2000 objects and is already the world’s finest and most comprehensive collection of its kind.
Porcelain and enamels, J.J. Kändler (modeller), Meissen, Germany, ca.1735
Porcelain and enamels, J.J. Kändler (modeller), Meissen, Germany, ca.1735
Silver-gilt and cloisonné enamel, Pavel Ovchinnikov, Russia, 1896-1908
Silver-gilt and cloisonné enamel, Pavel Ovchinnikov, Russia, 1896-1908
Bloodstone and gold openwork, Germany, ca.1750
Bloodstone and gold openwork, Germany, ca.1750
Silver and ivory, Paul Storr, England, 1814
Silver and ivory, Paul Storr, England, 1814
Looks can be deceiving; can you tell which of these two scenes is truly Chinese? Responding to the craze for Chinoiserie scenes in the West, English potters began to imitate the styles of painted decoration found on Chinese export wares. One of these teapots was decorated in China during the Kangxi reign (1654-1722), while the other is from the Liverpool manufactory Richard Chaffers & Co., dating to ca.1760-62.... but which one?
The one on the right, chinese?
Left == Chinese Kangxi.
