Chinese porcelain lidded sparrow beak hot water jug antique Qianlong 1760 - Qing hand painted floral pattern in puce & yellow enamel 15 cm H 350 ml

A beautiful example of antique Chinese export porcelain, a lidded sparrow beak jug decorated with a hand painted floral pattern in puce and yellow enamel highlights, dating from circa 1760, from the reign of the Emperor Qianlong 乾隆 (1736-95) the Qing dynasty 清代. The UK equivalent period was that of George II.

The bulbous and faintly round bodied jug has been hand painted with a European floral pattern in a style often seen on Meissen porcelain. It has a domed lid with a button finial, a sparrow beak spout and a decorated low relief moulded loop handle with a thumb rest. It was made at Jingdezhen in China for export to Europe 

The jug stands 6 inches (15.2 cm) high and the body diameter of 3 7/16 inches ( 8.7 cm) is 4 3/4 inches (11.9 cm) long and weighs 291 grammes unpacked. It has a maximum capacity of 350 ml or  just over 1/2 pint. 

It has a little damage: A handle has been broken into four pieces and restuck. There is a crack to the right hand side of the spout, the lid has a chip that has been filled and disguised - "restored". There is a hole in the lid that has been drilled after firing. It is either a vent hole for hot liquids, probably hot water  or even hot chocolate, or we have seen similar jugs with a small chain attached to prevent the lid from getting lost. Despite the damage this lovely jug displays well.

This is a most attractive item to add to a collection of eighteenth century antique Chinese porcelain hot water jugs or milk jugs and creamers.