China, c. 1800-1949. The apple-shaped body supported on a short foot and rising to a short narrow neck. Finely painted in copper-red with three roaring Buddhist lions standing foursquare on rocky outcrops in a grassy meadow, their eyes picked out in cobalt-blue, covered in a vitreous, bubble-suffused pale celadon glaze. The base with an underglaze blue six-character seal mark da Qing Qianlong nianzhi.

Provenance: From an English private collection.
Condition: Excellent condition with minor wear, firing irregularities, and minute nibbles to the foot.

Weight: 135.8 g
Dimensions: Height 7.9 cm

Expert's note: This water pot was most likely used while writing with a brush and ink. The three Buddhist lions were painted in an intentionally murky fashion, creating the impression that the lions are at a distance or strolling through a cloudy mist.

Literature comparison:
Compare a related water pot with copper-red dragons similarly painted in a murky fashion, 7 cm high, dated to the Qianlong period, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession number 14.40.90.