Cer, China, Qing, blue and white; Tea coffee

Small cup and saucer of egg-shell porcelain decorated in underglaze blue. On the inside of the saucer is a central panel enclosing a lady seated on a mat on a terrace, around which are arranged four pairs of ladies seated back to back, painted in two tones of blue. A floral spray is placed between each pair of ladies. A border of geometrical pattern embellishes the rim. On the outside are two pearls and two pictures adorned with ribbons. On the base of the saucer is the character qing (to celebrate) within a double circle. The cup is similarly decorated on the outside, except that the ladies are standing individually and holding floral sprays. The mark on the base of the cup reads Qiyu Tang zhi (made by the Hall of Rare Jade).

Four cups of similar size and decoration are in the Flagstaff House Museum of Tea Ware, Hong Kong, three of which carry the Qiyu Tang zhi mark and one with the character xing (prosperous). A saucer with the Qiyu Tang zhi mark, and similar in size to the V&A saucer, went as far as the Middle East and is now in the Topkapi Saray Museum in Istanbul. Other marks consisting of the words qiyu (rare jade) are qiyu meizhi (beautifully made like a rare jade) and qiyu baoding zhizhen (rare jade valuable as a precious tripod). The former appears on a saucer in the V&A (C.1349-1924), and the latter on a pair of bowls (C.927&928-1910) and a pair of vases (C.854&855-1910), all painted with figures in underglaze blue and dating to the Kangxi period. Hence Qiyu Tang was probably the name of a kiln that specialised in porcelain decorated with figures.

Bequeathed by Mrs. A. Cameron, accessioned in 1909. This acquisition information reflects that found in the Asia Department registers, as part of a 2022 provenance research project.

In the eighteenth century, Chinese teacups usually came in fairly small sizes. This was because tea-drinkers preferred to brew their tea in small teapots, finish each cup in one sip, and constantly refill the pots with hot water.

C.34&A-1909