A teapot Chinese export porcelain polychrome and gilt decoration with the coat of arms of António Machado de Utra Teles or António Teles de Utra Machado (1735-1821) Qianlong period (1736-1795) chip on the rim, slight chips in the glaze of the spout, cover with fault at the flap with associated hairline, one of the coats of arms with slight wear to the gilding Dimensões (altura x comprimento x largura) - 15,5 x 25,5 x 13,2 cm Notes: vd. CASTRO, Nuno de - "A Porcelana Chinesa ao Tempo do Império - Portugal-Brasil". Lisbon: ACD Editores, 2007, p. 179; SANTOS, A. Varela - "Portugal na Porcelana da China - 500 Anos de Comércio", volume IV. Lisbon: Artemágica, 2010, pp. 1288-1290, nº 6.61; and DIAS, Pedro - "Heráldica Portuguesa na Porcelana da China Qing". Lisbon: Macau Foundation, 2014, pp. 176-177, where an identical teapot belonging to the National Museum of Ancient Art, Lisbon, is reproduced, which is visibly restored. Apparently, until now only three pieces of the present tea service were known: 1st - the teapot, which has been extensively restored and is part of the collection of the National Museum of Ancient Art, reproduced in CASTRO, Nuno de – “A Porcelana Chinesa e Os Brasões do Império”. Porto: Livraria Civilização Editora, 1987, p. 163; and in DIAS, Pedro – “Heráldica Portuguesa na Porcelana da China Qing”. Lisbon: Macau Foundation, 2014, pp. 176-177; 2nd - the milkjug reproduced in CASTRO, Nuno de - "A Porcelana Chinesa ao Tempo do Império - Portugal-Brasil". Lisbon: ACD Editores, 2007, p. 179; 3rd – the saucer that Cabral Moncada Leilões listed as number 373 in its auction number 109 of September 29, 2009, and sold for €4,000, and which is reproduced in SANTOS, A. Varela – “Portugal na Porcelana da China - 500 Anos de Comércio", volume IV. Lisbon: Artemágica, 2010, pp. 1288-1290, nº 6.61. While acknowledging the possibility that other parts of the service in question may have surfaced that we missed, this rarity leads us to believe in one of two hypotheses: a. the service, as a whole, was the victim of an accident and the vast majority of the parts broke; b. the vast majority of the pieces are found together in the home of a descendant of the original owner or have been sold as a whole to a foreign institution that has kept them in storage.   Given its proven rarity, the teapot now being offered for auction is very interesting as it could fill a gap in one of the various private and/or institutional collections of Chinese export porcelain decorated with coats of arms of the Portuguese nobility existing in Portugal and abroad.