A BLUE AND WHITE ‘QILIN AND PHOENIX’ TEAPOT AND COVER, TRANSITIONAL PERIOD, FROM THE HATCHER CARGO
This lot is from a single owner collection and is therefore offered without reserve

China, c. 1643-1645 The ovoid body set with a short spout and rounded handle decorated with rows of small clouds. The body finely painted in inky shades of cobalt blue to depict a qilin and phoenix in a palace garden framed by a banana plant and rockwork, all below a hatched band with trefoils encircling the rim. The cover similarly decorated with a band of floral scroll and centered by a tall double-waisted knop.

The underside with an underglaze-blue square cartouche enclosing a minyao or shop mark.

Provenance: Michael Hatcher collection, recovered from the ‘Hatcher cargo’ in 1983. Christie’s Amsterdam,14 March 1984 (label to base). The Collection of Sam and Myrna Myers, Paris, France, acquired from the above. The base with a further label, ‘Recovered from an Asian vessel sunk in the South China Sea’. Michael Hatcher (b. 1940) is a British explorer and marine salvor who specialized in salvage work in the South China Sea. In 1981, he was involved in investigating the wreck of the Dutch submarine K XVII. He is especially known for his recovery of large quantities of Chinese porcelain from the VOC ship Geldermalsen (known as the ‘Nanking cargo’) which was sold at Christie's in Amsterdam in 1986. Previously, he had discovered another ship in the South China Sea, which became known as the ‘Hatcher cargo’. A part of the cargo salvaged in this wreck was sold at Christie’s Amsterdam in March 1984.
Condition: Excellent condition with minor wear and firing flaws including minor pitting. The exterior with surface alteration consistent with objects from maritime salvage.

Weight: 494 g
Dimensions: Height 13.1 cm

The present teapot was recovered among some 25,000 vessels found on the wreck of an unidentified Asian ship in the South China Sea. This ship is known as the 'Hatcher cargo’ after Captain Michael Hatcher who discovered her in 1983. There is no written record testifying to the exact year of her sinking but the covers of two oviform jars inscribed in underglaze blue with a cyclical date corresponding to 1643 make fairly precise dating of the wreck possible. The cargo primarily consisted of two types of blue-and-white porcelain made at Jingdezhen at the end of the Ming dynasty – late variations of 'kraak' ware and examples of a 'transitional' style characterized by landscape motifs and naturalistic plants and birds. The ship may have been on its way to Indonesia, carrying also spices, silk and other commodities for sale to the Dutch whose East India Company had offices in Batavia (modern Jakarta). Chinese junks sailing to Batavia or Bantam varied in size from 200 to 800 tons. The journey out was made over three weeks during December and January and the return trip took place in June and July.

The Qilin and the Phoenix, along with the Dragon and Tortoise, are sometimes referred to as the Four Holy Beasts, mentioned in the Chinese classic Book of Rites and representing different aspects of the cosmos and embodying different virtues. The Four Holy Beasts differs from Four Symbols in that the Qilin replaces the White Tiger.

Literature comparison:
Compare a closely related blue and white teapot of similar form, 10.8 cm high, also from the Hatcher cargo and now in the Minneapolis Institute of Art, accession number 99.217.415a, b.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie’s New York, 21 January 2016, lot 198
Price: USD 20,000 or approx. EUR 23,000 (for two) converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: Two small 'hatcher cargo' blue and white teapots and covers, Transitional, mid-17th century
Expert remark: Compare the closely related form and decoration, albeit with a simpler motif. Note the related size (11.5 cm).