A Scholar’s World in Objects: The Ai Lian Tang Collection at Christie’s Hong Kong

Written by Fête Chinoise Editorial Team
IMages Courtesy: Christie’s

This autumn presents a rare opportunity to experience the quiet beauty of Chinese art and philosophy through The Ai Lian Tang Collection: Imperial Scholars’ Objects, a dedicated sale presented by Christie’s on October 30, 2025, during Hong Kong Asian Art Week.

Comprising 26 extraordinary objects, ranging from Song dynasty ceramics and Qing imperial porcelain to Buddhist sculpture and scholarly objects, the collection is estimated to exceed HK$100 million in total value. Beyond rarity and craftsmanship, these works offer a quiet window into the inner life of China’s imperial scholars: individuals who lived by ritual, poetry, calligraphy, and a cultivated moral order. For them, beauty was an expression of thought and virtue.

A celadon-ground yangcai teapot from the Qing dynasty, finely inscribed with Three Purity Tea, a poem composed by Emperor Qianlong

Art as Reflection of the Mind

At the heart of the collection is a celadon-ground yangcai teapot from the Qing dynasty, finely inscribed with Three Purity Tea, a poem composed by Emperor Qianlong. The teapot is delicately enamelled with prunus, pine, and finger citron: symbols of longevity, elegance, and resilience. Two red-enamelled seals reading Qian and Long further affirm the piece’s imperial authorship. It stands as the only known example of its kind, embodying the fusion of personal cultivation with the Confucian ideals that governed the Qing imperial court.

Another exceptional piece in the collection is a magnificent and rare celadon-glazed archaistic vase (hu) from the Qianlong period. With its refined celadon glaze and decorative motifs inspired by Western Zhou bronzes, the vase reflects a broader imperial fascination with archaism, a key aesthetic and ideological pursuit of the Qing court. Its form and design closely mirror notable archaic bronzes, placing it within an exclusive circle of known Qianlong-era interpretations preserved in prestigious collections such as the Baur Collection and Wang Xing Lou Collection. A tribute to ancient Chinese ritual objects, this vase is a material expression of the emperor’s aspiration to link present governance with the moral clarity of the past.

A magnificent and rare celadon-glazed archaistic vase (hu)

An imperial Beijing enamel tiered ink stone warmer box, housing an octagonal Duan ink stone

Objects of scholarly use also appear in this collection as masterpieces of design. An imperial Beijing enamel tiered ink stone warmer box, housing an octagonal Duan ink stone, reflects both function and aesthetic discipline. Commissioned by imperial decree in the first year of Qianlong’s reign, it was completed the following year—a testament to its complexity. With a turquoise-enamelled interior, a chocolate-handling tray, and a Qianlong-marked white enamel exterior, the piece reveals how the scholar’s workspace was as refined as his thoughts.

Among the most visually arresting works is a jadeite archaistic censer and cover, carved in fangding form. Its icy emerald-green tone, taotie masks, and lion finials convey a late-Qing sophistication where jadeite, emerged as a luxury symbol under Qianlong, symbolised purity and imperial refinement. This censer was once part of the Baron Fujita Collection, itself largely composed of treasures from Prince Kung, a key figure in 19th-century Qing collecting.

A jadeite archaistic censer and cover, carved in fangding form

Other pieces in the collection offer gentler, contemplative moments: a guan mallet-shaped lobed washer from the Southern Song dynasty, with its soft glaze and understated form; and a gilt-decorated yangcai 'lotus' tripod censer, bearing a Qianlong six-character impressed seal mark, that shows the height of decorative porcelain artistry within the imperial kiln tradition.

Together, these objects suggest a world where beauty was both intellectual and ritual. In the presence of such artefacts, we are invited not just to admire, but to reflect: on the enduring values of harmony, restraint, and cultivated thought. Through them, we glimpse the deeper cultural rhythms that continue to shape Chinese identity across time and place.

A guan mallet-shaped lobed washer from the Southern Song dynasty

A gilt-decorated yangcai 'lotus' tripod censer

The Ai Lian Tang Collection will be on view in several cities across Asia before its live auction in Hong Kong on October 30, 2025, at Christie’s Asia Pacific Headquarters in Central. Preview exhibitions will take place in Beijing, Shanghai, Taipei, and Hong Kong throughout September and October.

For the most up-to-date information on dates, venues, and registration, visit Christie’s.

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