A fine Chinese s ilver and parcel gilt ewer or teapot and cover

A fine Chinese s ilver and parcel gilt ewer or teapot and cover, with a lobed hexafoil body finely engraved with panels containing Chinese figures in various pursuits and trees on a matted ground, the knop formed as a curled prunus twig and with three flower heads, the handle as a knotty scaly pine branch, the spout modelled as bamboo, the detailing picked out in gold, character marks 'Rui Long' prick-engraved to the base, Kangxi 1662-1722, 15.5cm. High. (2) The characters Rui Long may be a Chinese personal name or an early Chinese rendering of a European surname. For a similar silver ewer or teapot, see Forbes, Chinese Export Silver 1785-1885, fig27, p.54 and for a parcel-gilt silver example see Forbes, Chinese Export Silver, A Legacy of Luxury, No.4 Illustrated on the cover.