Teapot with Landscape and Imperial Poem (lid)

This teapot with a polished surface shows an imperial poem in gold on one side and a landscape on the other. The poem in archaic seal script was composed by the Qianlong emperor on his third southern inspection tour in 1762, when he traveled to southern China to solidify his rule. The base bears a stamped seal of its maker. Yixing potters produced teapots primarily for Ming dynasty literati-officials who valued simplicity and restraint, until the early Qing emperors introduced them at court.