Teapot painted in fencai enamels with a scene in a tea pavilion

Emperor Qianlong (1736 - 1795) was a fervent tea lover and a professed supporter of the literary arts. He had written about 200 poems on tea. This teapot with exquisite enamel decoration was produced for imperial use. Painted on one side in a reserved panel is a man being served tea in an open pavilion in a garden. On the other side is a poem entitled "Watching Tea-picking at the Cold Spring Pavilion", written when Emperor Qianlong visited Hangzhou. He was impressed by the complicated process of preparing the Longjing tea leaves. The rest of the body is painted with floral scrollwork on a lemon yellow ground; the inside of the pot and lid are in light turquoise enamel.