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拍品專文
This exquisite lotus petal vessel bears the seal of Chen Mingyuan, who was active during the Kangxi and Yongzheng reigns (mid-17th to early 18th century). Chen Mingyuan was an extremely highly regarded ceramic artist, and indeed is generally regarded as one of the finest of all the Yixing potters, and viewed by many as second only to Shi Dabin. He was also noted for his talents as a calligrapher in a style derived from the calligraphy of the masters of the Sui and Tang dynasties. Chen was a native of Yixing, his father Chen Ziqi had been a distinguished potter and Chen Yuan grew up with the traditions of the so-called 'purple sand'. (Although within his family he was Chen Yuan, he usually signed himself Chen Mingyuan, or used one of several hao, sobriquets. It is widely held that Chen Mingyuan is one of the most accomplished Yixing potters. Not only is his technical skill admired, he also possessed a wonderful creativity and artistry. Chen Mingyuan is particularly known for his ingenious use of natural forms, from teapots to models of fruits and nuts.
The current water vessel is a wonderful example of his creativity, his artistic flair and his consummate technical ability. The bowl of the vessel is made as a single lotus petal, beautifully potted and with the speckling and fine veins painted with great delicacy on the exterior. The handle is composed of a cut lotus stem, which terminates on the interior of the petal with a small lotus pod. The vessel is balanced on a rhizome on one side and a small snail on the other. Each aspect of the design is naturalistically rendered and each complements the others. The use of the single petal is especially interesting, since single lotus leaves have often been used in both ceramics and jade to form covers, ink palettes, and water containers, but a single petal is very innovative. The petal itself is very gracefully rendered, and it is also tempting to see the calligrapher's eye in the fluid lines of the petal's edge and the curvature of the handle, while the delicacy of the slip painted details also provide a testament to fine brush control.
A similar vessel from the collection of I.M. Pei is illustrated by Teresa Tse Bartholomew in I-Hsing Ware, China House Gallery, China Institute in America, 28 October 1977 - 29 January 1978, p. 61, no. 37. Another is illustrated by Helen Comstock, "Some Examples of I-hsing Pottery," Connoisseur, Vol. CIV (March 1942), p. 75.
The current water vessel is a wonderful example of his creativity, his artistic flair and his consummate technical ability. The bowl of the vessel is made as a single lotus petal, beautifully potted and with the speckling and fine veins painted with great delicacy on the exterior. The handle is composed of a cut lotus stem, which terminates on the interior of the petal with a small lotus pod. The vessel is balanced on a rhizome on one side and a small snail on the other. Each aspect of the design is naturalistically rendered and each complements the others. The use of the single petal is especially interesting, since single lotus leaves have often been used in both ceramics and jade to form covers, ink palettes, and water containers, but a single petal is very innovative. The petal itself is very gracefully rendered, and it is also tempting to see the calligrapher's eye in the fluid lines of the petal's edge and the curvature of the handle, while the delicacy of the slip painted details also provide a testament to fine brush control.
A similar vessel from the collection of I.M. Pei is illustrated by Teresa Tse Bartholomew in I-Hsing Ware, China House Gallery, China Institute in America, 28 October 1977 - 29 January 1978, p. 61, no. 37. Another is illustrated by Helen Comstock, "Some Examples of I-hsing Pottery," Connoisseur, Vol. CIV (March 1942), p. 75.