Qianlong Period, Qing Dynasty
Height: 48cm
Mouth diameter: 7.5 cm

The gilded silver kettle is shaped like a bottle gourd, with a tower-like lid that has a button on top. On the belly, there's a long spout with a dragon head, against which is a long curved handle with a dragon head. On the bottom of the kettle, there's a date mark of "Qianlong Period of the Qing Dynasty" in regular script carved in intaglio inside the double-lined rectangular frame.

The kettle has engraved patterns all over the body. The patterns are arranged in three groups, with each group having a big treasure flower surrounded by six small ones. The branches and leaves are intertwined with each other and the flowers are all gilded.

The tower-shaped lid is engraved with lotus petal pattern and the upper part of the bottle gourd is adorned with two lines of bowstring pattern, with two circles of branch motifs in between.

This large-sized kettle is well shaped and practical. It was used by the emperor on his hunting trips. This kettle is a masterwork of large silver articles of Qianlong Period in the Qing Dynasty.