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拍品專文
This octagonal ewer is remarkable for its form, its size, and the quality of its painted decoration. Facetted forms appeared with greater frequency in both blue and white porcelains and Longquan celadon wares in the Yuan dynasty. This fashion for facetted forms may be seen either as a reflection of a contemporary interest in metalwork from west of China's borders - Iran, Syria and Mamluk Egypt, as is often suggested (see M. Medley, Metalwork and Chinese Ceramics, Percival David Foundation Monograph Series No. 2, London, 1972, p. 14), or a revival of an interest in Tang dynasty metalwork. A number of Tang vessels were made in facetted form, probably as a result of cultural contact with Western and Central Asia. The most famous of these are the octagonal gold cups found in the cargo of the Belitong wreck and in the Hejiacun hoard (discussed by R. Scott in 'A Remarkable Tang Dynasty Cargo', Transactions of the Oriental Ceramic Society, vol. 67, 2002-2003, pp. 20-22). While facetted forms were occasionally made in the Song period - for example the octagonal Northern Song early Longquan celadon ewer in the collection of the Zhejiang Provincial Museum (illustrated in Longquan yao qingci, Celadons from Longquan Kilns, Taipei, 1998, p. 87, no. 46) - in the Yuan dynasty a greater variety of facetted ceramic vessels were made. Of the Yuan Longquan vessels the best known are the octagonal meiping vases of the type seen in the Percival David Foundation (discussed by R. Scott in Imperial Taste - Chinese Ceramics from the Percival David Foundation, San Francisco, 1989, pp.48-9, no. 23). However facetted Longquan dishes, bowls, and wide-necked pear-shaped vases were also made in the Yuan dynasty (see Longquan yao qingci, Celadons from Longquan Kilns, op. cit., pp. 232-3, nos. 214 and 215, p. 215, no. 195, and p. 152,no. 119, respectively).
Of the facetted, usually octagonal, blue and white porcelain vessels made during the Yuan dynasty, the majority of the small number of extant examples are vertical forms. An octagonal double-gourd vase decorated with ogival panels containing insects and flora is preserved in the Topkapi Saray Museum, Istanbul (illustrated in Treasures from Topkapi Palace - the Ceramics the Sultans loved, Kyushu Ceramic Museum, 1995, p. 20, no. 11), as is another of the same form decorated with birds and flowers (illustrated by Zhu Yuping in Yuan dai qinghua ci, Shanghai, 2000, p. 139, no. 6-15), while a further example from the Kikusui Kogeikan Museum, Yamagata Prefecture, Japan, combining insects, birds and plants, is illustrated in the same volume p. 47, no. 2-16. The lower bulb of a similar octagonal double-gourd vase from the collection of the Ardebil Shrine, now in the Iran Bastan in Tehran, is illustrated by J. A. Pope in Chinese Porcelains from the Ardebil Shrine, London, 1981 edition, pl. 27, no. 29.510.
The Capital Museum, Beijing, held an exhibition in 2009 where it brought together a splendid group of Yuan blue and white porcelains, including several facetted forms (see Yuan qinghua, Beijing, 2009). These included an octagonal jar decorated with the 'Three Friends of Winter' from Liaoning provincial Museum (op. cit., pp. 54-7), and the famous octagonal meiping vase with dragons reserved against waves excavated from the Baoding hoard in Hebei province in 1964 (op. cit., p. 13) as well as a similar meiping excavated from a tomb in Hubei in 2006 (op. cit., p. 14). Two further octagonal meiping are known from the Topkapi Saray Museum (see Treasures from Topkapi Palace - the Ceramics the Sultans loved, op. cit., p. 21, no. 12), and from the Matsuoka Museum of Art, Tokyo (see Yuan dai qinghua ci, op. cit., p. 128, no. 5-16). An unusual octagonal vase with elephant head handles excavated in Anhui province in 2004 was also included in the Capital Museum exhibition (Yuan qinghua, op. cit., p. 41).
The most frequently found octagonal form in Yuan blue and white porcelain is the pear-shaped vase yuhuchunping. An example decorated with Buddhist lions, which was excavated from the Baoding hoard, was included in the Capital Museum exhibition (Yuan qinghua, op. cit., pp. 32-4), while four others are illustrated by Zhu Yuping in Yuan dai qinghua ci, op. cit., p. 97, no. 4-12, and p. 138, nos. 6-12-14). A further octagonal pear-shaped vase, which shares with the current ewer a very high standard of painting, is in the collection of the Umezawa Kinenkan Museum, Tokyo (illustrated by T. Mikami in Sekai Toji Zenshu - 13 - Liao, Jin Yuan, Tokyo, 1981, pl. 207).
Blue and white octagonal pear-shaped ewers, such as the current vessel, are much rarer than the vases. A slightly smaller example, with similar, if more sketchily painted decoration, was excavated from the Baoding hoard in 1964, and included in the Capital Museum exhibition (Yuan qinghua, op. cit., pp. 70-1). Another smaller blue and white ewer of this form, with somewhat more crowded decoration, was sold by Sotheby's Hong Kong, 24th November 1987, and is now in the collection of the Matsuoka Museum of Art (see Toyo Toji Meihin Toroku, Tokyo, 1991, pl. 61). A further example is illustrated as the frontispiece by J. Carswell in Blue and White: Chinese Porcelain Around the World, London, 2000. The current vessel is rare in having a painted dragon head with jaws agape at the base of its spout. Such animal heads often appear in three-dimensional form, modelled around the base of the spouts, or occasionally handles, of white-glazed ewers, such as that illustrated by T. Mikami in Sekai Toji Zenshu - 13 - Liao, Jin Yuan, op. cit., pl. 42, but painted heads of the sort seen on the current ewer are very rare.
The gilded metal embellishments, which have been applied to the tip of the spout, to the mouth with a hinged cover, and as a replacement handle, appear to be of Ottoman origin, probably dating to the 17th or 18th century. It is probably that the spout tip and handle were applied when these original areas were lost, while the hinged cover was a more practical replacement for the loose porcelain cover, with which the ewer would probably have originally been fitted. The fact that the owner of the ewer was prepared to expend a significant amount of money to have these gilded metal mounts made, indicates how greatly the vessel was prized. Several of the Chinese porcelain vessels preserved from the collection of the Ottoman sultans in the Topkapi Saray Museum in Istanbul were fitted with silver or gilded mounts, and a similarly shaped hinged lid in gilded copper can be seen on a fine white late 14th or early 15th century ewer (see J. Ayers and R. Krahl, Chinese Ceramics in the Topkapi Saray Museum Istanbul - II - Yuan and Ming Dynasty Porcelain, London, 1986, p. 524, no. 634). It is probable that, at some time in its long history, the current exceptional ewer was owned by an Ottoman collector of considerable status.
Of the facetted, usually octagonal, blue and white porcelain vessels made during the Yuan dynasty, the majority of the small number of extant examples are vertical forms. An octagonal double-gourd vase decorated with ogival panels containing insects and flora is preserved in the Topkapi Saray Museum, Istanbul (illustrated in Treasures from Topkapi Palace - the Ceramics the Sultans loved, Kyushu Ceramic Museum, 1995, p. 20, no. 11), as is another of the same form decorated with birds and flowers (illustrated by Zhu Yuping in Yuan dai qinghua ci, Shanghai, 2000, p. 139, no. 6-15), while a further example from the Kikusui Kogeikan Museum, Yamagata Prefecture, Japan, combining insects, birds and plants, is illustrated in the same volume p. 47, no. 2-16. The lower bulb of a similar octagonal double-gourd vase from the collection of the Ardebil Shrine, now in the Iran Bastan in Tehran, is illustrated by J. A. Pope in Chinese Porcelains from the Ardebil Shrine, London, 1981 edition, pl. 27, no. 29.510.
The Capital Museum, Beijing, held an exhibition in 2009 where it brought together a splendid group of Yuan blue and white porcelains, including several facetted forms (see Yuan qinghua, Beijing, 2009). These included an octagonal jar decorated with the 'Three Friends of Winter' from Liaoning provincial Museum (op. cit., pp. 54-7), and the famous octagonal meiping vase with dragons reserved against waves excavated from the Baoding hoard in Hebei province in 1964 (op. cit., p. 13) as well as a similar meiping excavated from a tomb in Hubei in 2006 (op. cit., p. 14). Two further octagonal meiping are known from the Topkapi Saray Museum (see Treasures from Topkapi Palace - the Ceramics the Sultans loved, op. cit., p. 21, no. 12), and from the Matsuoka Museum of Art, Tokyo (see Yuan dai qinghua ci, op. cit., p. 128, no. 5-16). An unusual octagonal vase with elephant head handles excavated in Anhui province in 2004 was also included in the Capital Museum exhibition (Yuan qinghua, op. cit., p. 41).
The most frequently found octagonal form in Yuan blue and white porcelain is the pear-shaped vase yuhuchunping. An example decorated with Buddhist lions, which was excavated from the Baoding hoard, was included in the Capital Museum exhibition (Yuan qinghua, op. cit., pp. 32-4), while four others are illustrated by Zhu Yuping in Yuan dai qinghua ci, op. cit., p. 97, no. 4-12, and p. 138, nos. 6-12-14). A further octagonal pear-shaped vase, which shares with the current ewer a very high standard of painting, is in the collection of the Umezawa Kinenkan Museum, Tokyo (illustrated by T. Mikami in Sekai Toji Zenshu - 13 - Liao, Jin Yuan, Tokyo, 1981, pl. 207).
Blue and white octagonal pear-shaped ewers, such as the current vessel, are much rarer than the vases. A slightly smaller example, with similar, if more sketchily painted decoration, was excavated from the Baoding hoard in 1964, and included in the Capital Museum exhibition (Yuan qinghua, op. cit., pp. 70-1). Another smaller blue and white ewer of this form, with somewhat more crowded decoration, was sold by Sotheby's Hong Kong, 24th November 1987, and is now in the collection of the Matsuoka Museum of Art (see Toyo Toji Meihin Toroku, Tokyo, 1991, pl. 61). A further example is illustrated as the frontispiece by J. Carswell in Blue and White: Chinese Porcelain Around the World, London, 2000. The current vessel is rare in having a painted dragon head with jaws agape at the base of its spout. Such animal heads often appear in three-dimensional form, modelled around the base of the spouts, or occasionally handles, of white-glazed ewers, such as that illustrated by T. Mikami in Sekai Toji Zenshu - 13 - Liao, Jin Yuan, op. cit., pl. 42, but painted heads of the sort seen on the current ewer are very rare.
The gilded metal embellishments, which have been applied to the tip of the spout, to the mouth with a hinged cover, and as a replacement handle, appear to be of Ottoman origin, probably dating to the 17th or 18th century. It is probably that the spout tip and handle were applied when these original areas were lost, while the hinged cover was a more practical replacement for the loose porcelain cover, with which the ewer would probably have originally been fitted. The fact that the owner of the ewer was prepared to expend a significant amount of money to have these gilded metal mounts made, indicates how greatly the vessel was prized. Several of the Chinese porcelain vessels preserved from the collection of the Ottoman sultans in the Topkapi Saray Museum in Istanbul were fitted with silver or gilded mounts, and a similarly shaped hinged lid in gilded copper can be seen on a fine white late 14th or early 15th century ewer (see J. Ayers and R. Krahl, Chinese Ceramics in the Topkapi Saray Museum Istanbul - II - Yuan and Ming Dynasty Porcelain, London, 1986, p. 524, no. 634). It is probable that, at some time in its long history, the current exceptional ewer was owned by an Ottoman collector of considerable status.