Most expensive teapot
Have you ever wondered what the top ten most expensive books were? Or teapots? Perhaps pianos? In this series of Is this the most expensive…ever sold? You will learn some weird and wonderful facts that might help you locate your own treasures!
The Ch’a Ching is the earliest documented book on the subject of tea, which is recorded to have appeared in 780. Tea found its fame during the Tang Dynasty (618 – 907) initially it is believed to have been used as a medicinal drink, not as the nations favourite drink, as we know it today!
Here is a list of five of the most expensive teapots to make headlines:
1.This pair of 18th Century “Melon” teapots sold for $2.18 million fetching more than six times their estimate at Bonhams in 2011 making these two teapots the most expensive to ever sell. They are two extremely rare teapots dating from the early Qianlong Period.
2.A close runner up with another impressive price tag is the 1948 Yixing Zisha Teapot which fetched $2 million at auction in Beijing 2010. This beautiful example of a teapot is made from specific clay, which is only found in the Chinese region of Yixing. These teapots are often engraved with Chinese poetry as this one is.
3.Following in the same style is a Yixing Stoneware teapot by Gu Jingzhou which sold in 2013 for a remarkable $1.32 million at Bonhams.
4.A Pair of Famille Rose Coral – Ground Teapots $1.26 million Christies.
Dating from the Imperial Qianlong Dynasty period, which reigned between 1736 and 1795 in China.
5.Wedgewood “No Stamp Act” teapot made $130,000 in 2009. The estimated date of the teapot is 1765 with it carrying the colonial protest message “No Stamp Act” and “ Success to Trade in America. This is a historical piece against the Stamp Act, the act that ultimately led to the American Revolution.