Lot 171
CHINESE UNDERGLAZE BLUE WITH IRON-RED 'DRAGON' TEA BOAT
YONGZHENG MARK, 20TH CENTURY
Auction: 15 May 2026 from 10:00 BST
Description
二十世紀 雍正款 青花礬紅彩五爪龍紋茶船
painted with five-clawed dragons amidst clouds chasing flaming pearls in the centre of the interior and two long sides of the exterior, the base inscribed with an apocryphal six-character Yongzheng mark in ink
Dimensions
14.6cm wide
Footnote
The tea boat is one of the ancient tea utensils. It is a saucer used to hold the tea cup, also known as a tea saucer holder, tea tray holder, or cup saucer. Its original purpose was to hold the tea cup and prevent the user's hand from being scalded. Later, because its shape resembled a boat, it came to be called a 'tea boat' or 'tea vessel.' The Record of Porcelain in the Flowing Drink Studio states: 'The vessel that holds the cup is called a cup saucer, also known as a tea boat. Those made in the Ming dynasty were shaped like a boat, and the same held true for the early Qing dynasty. A pair of closely comparable tea boats, similar in design and dragon motif, mark and dated to the Yongzheng period, was in the Yidetang Collection, was sold at China Guardian Hong Kong on 7th April 2025, lot 1072.
茶船為古代茶具之一，為用以置茶盞之承盤，亦稱茶託子、茶拓子、盞托。乃是專為承放茶盞以防燙手之用，後因其形似舟，遂以茶船或茶舟名之。《飲流齋說瓷》云：「承杯之器謂之盞托，亦謂之茶船，明製如舟，清初亦然」。一對清雍正款及年代的青花礬紅雲龍紋茶船，不論設計或龍紋均可與本品比較，曾為藝德堂藏品，於2025年4月7日在香港嘉德拍出，拍品1072。
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