*Vietnamese Market* – Chaozhou Teapot – Dragon – China – Qing Dynastie (1644-1911)

A Rare Silver-Overlay Chaozhou Tea Pot for the Vietnamese MarketChina & Vietnam, 19th centuryA rare and highly decorative Chaozhou red-brown teapot, entirely mounted in finely pierced and chased silver for the Vietnamese market. The globular body is covered with intricate openwork silver panels of scrolling vegetal motifs and figural reserves, while the swing handle is decorated with dragons pursuing a flaming pearl, a powerful symbol of authority, prosperity, and cosmic energy in Chinese and Vietnamese art.Although such export-mounted teapots are frequently described as Yixing ware, the present example is more accurately attributable to the Chaozhou kilns of Guangdong province, identifiable by the characteristic smooth reddish-brown slib covering a more orange colored courser clay and the "pulled" production method instead of the panel constructed Yixing-ware. Chaozhou teapots were highly prized for brewing aromatic teas and were extensively exported to Vietnam, Thailand, and other overseas Chinese communities during the 19th century.The elaborate silver overlay was almost certainly added in Vietnam by highly skilled specialist silversmiths, creating a fascinating cross-cultural object that combines Chinese teapot craftsmanship with refined Vietnamese metalwork. Examples of this hybrid type remain rare, particularly those retaining extensive original silver mounts, But most examples with this elaborate silver mounts are... lees verder bij Catawiki