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There is no defensible all-time record for a single teapot in the available auction evidence. The largest reported figures concern complete tea services, and reports of one Gu Jingzhou set conflict substantially. Those distinctions matter: a service containing a pot, cups and tray is not the same object as one teapot, and a catalogue estimate is not a sale result.
Why there is no reliable single-teapot record here
Reports of the most expensive teapots often blur the line between an individual pot and a tea set or service. They can also repeat secondary-market claims without a corresponding auction-house lot record. In the examples available, the currencies and reported amounts do not line up well enough to create a trustworthy ranked list.
The most prominent example is Gu Jingzhou’s Nine Dragons. SiYuTao’s February 2025 article describes it as a tea service containing a teapot, cups and tray, and reports a 2014 China Guardian sale at HK$89.6 million (US$11.6 million). That account is secondary, rather than an auction-house lot record. A 2014 Zisha.com trade report gives a materially different figure—RMB 28.75 million—for a Nine Dragons tea set at China Guardian’s spring sale. The discrepancy is unresolved; the available accounts do not establish a verified single-pot price.
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Another Gu Jingzhou service appears in a 2016 Artnet market report covering 2015. Its table identifies Squirrel and Grapes as a tea set and says it reportedly sold for US$16.2 million at Dongzheng Auctions in Beijing. Artnet’s report retains the qualification “reportedly,” and an auction-house lot record was not available to confirm the result. It is therefore a notable reported service sale, not proof of a record for one teapot.
Notable high-value teapot and tea-service examples
Gu Jingzhou’s Yixing tea services
Gu Jingzhou is named in both the Nine Dragons and Squirrel and Grapes reports. The former is described as a service; the latter as a tea set. The reports show why his work features in discussions of costly tea objects, but they do not support a clean price ranking: one account for Nine Dragons gives a substantially different amount from another, and the Squirrel and Grapes result is presented as reported rather than independently confirmed in an auction-house record.
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Huang Yulin’s dragon-carp teapot
Christie’s catalogue identifies a Yixing teapot and cover attributed to Huang Yulin and dated to the Guangxu period (1875–1908). A movable dragon head on the cover has an extendable tongue; the body depicts a dragon and carp. The catalogue interprets the carp leaping over the “Dragon Gate” as a traditional symbol of success in civil-service examinations and advancement in status. Christie’s lists an estimate of HK$500,000–800,000, not a realized sale price on the opened catalogue page.
Qianlong-period jade and famille rose pots
Christie’s catalogue describes a lobed white jade teapot as Qianlong period (1736–1795), with a carved body, fitted cover and branch-like C-shaped handle. Its essay discusses the difficulty of hollowing a vessel through a narrow neck and places the work within imperial jade-carving traditions. Those are catalogue interpretations; the opened page does not provide a realized price or establish provenance beyond the history it lists. Read the jade teapot catalogue entry.
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A separate Christie’s entry describes a turquoise-ground famille rose lobed teapot bearing a Qianlong six-character seal mark and dates it to the period (1736–1795). The catalogue reads its lotus and bat motifs as auspicious wordplay conveying a wish for continuing blessings. Its opened catalogue page supplies object context, not a comparable realized-price figure.
How to read the prices and catalogue evidence
| Reported object | What the source says | What the figure establishes |
|---|---|---|
| Nine Dragons, Gu Jingzhou | SiYuTao (2025 article) calls it a tea service and reports a 2014 China Guardian sale of HK$89.6 million (US$11.6 million); Zisha.com (2014) reports RMB 28.75 million for a Nine Dragons tea set. | Conflicting secondary reports for a service/set, not a verified individual teapot result. The discrepancy is unresolved. |
| Squirrel and Grapes, Gu Jingzhou | Artnet’s 2016 report on 2015 calls it a tea set reportedly sold for US$16.2 million at Dongzheng Auctions. | A qualified secondary report for a set; no auction-house lot record was located in the evidence cited here. |
| Huang Yulin dragon-carp Yixing teapot | Christie’s catalogue estimate: HK$500,000–800,000. | An estimate, not a realized price stated on the opened page. |
| Millicent Rogers-associated jade vessel | Sotheby’s catalogue text reports HK$75.5 million for a jade-vessel sale in 2017. | The passage calls it a record for a jade vessel; it does not identify the object as a teapot. |
The Sotheby’s figure is useful as a warning against loose comparisons: a high-priced jade vessel is not automatically a teapot. The catalogue passage identifies the object as a jade vessel, not a tea-making pot.
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Even correctly identified auction prices may need context before they can be compared: reported currencies differ, and the cited accounts do not establish a consistent basis for currency conversion or whether buyer’s premium is included. Without primary lot records and consistent object definitions, a numbered all-time ranking would imply more certainty than these sources provide.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What makes these objects collectible—and what the evidence cannot prove
The catalogue entries document striking differences in material, technique and decoration: Yixing clay with a moving dragon detail, carved white jade, and famille rose enamel on porcelain. The reports also attach importance to named makers, period attributions and symbolic motifs. These are useful ways to understand what makes each object distinctive, but the available examples do not isolate how much any one feature adds to a final auction price.
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Attributions and dates should be read as the language of the relevant catalogue or report. For example, Christie’s attributes the dragon-carp pot to Huang Yulin and dates it to the Guangxu period; its other entries describe the jade and famille rose pots as Qianlong-period works. Catalogue descriptions provide object context, but should not be mistaken for a complete, independently verified account of provenance or a sale result.
Quick Recap
How to identify a meaningful teapot auction record
- Check what was sold. Confirm whether the lot is one pot or a service that includes cups, a tray or other pieces.
- Find the primary lot record. An auction-house result is stronger evidence of a sale than a later article repeating a price.
- Separate estimate from result. An estimate indicates a pre-sale range; it does not show what a buyer paid.
- Keep the sale context attached. Record the auction house, sale date, currency and whether the stated amount includes buyer’s premium, if the source says.
- Read attribution and provenance precisely. Preserve qualifiers such as “attributed to,” and distinguish a catalogue’s account from independently established facts.
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
