拍品 3211
3211
A FINE AND VERY RARE TIANBAI-GLAZED ANHUA-DECORATED 'POMEGRANATE' BOTTLE VASE, YUHUCHUNPING
A FINE AND VERY RARE TIANBAI-GLAZED ANHUA-DECORATED 'POMEGRANATE' BOTTLE VASE, YUHUCHUNPING
A FINE AND VERY RARE TIANBAI-GLAZED ANHUA-DECORATED 'POMEGRANATE' BOTTLE VASE, YUHUCHUNPING
2 更多
A FINE AND VERY RARE TIANBAI-GLAZED ANHUA-DECORATED 'POMEGRANATE' BOTTLE VASE, YUHUCHUNPING
5 更多
Exceptional Elegance Rosemary Scott - International Academic Director, Asian Art For many connoisseurs the pear-shaped vases (yuhuchunping) of the Yongle reign represent the most elegant manifestation of this classic form. While Yuan dynasty vessels often have a pleasing delicacy, they are rarely well-finished and their luting lines are often all too evident. In the Hongwu reign the bodies of pear-shaped vases became significantly wider, to the extent that in a number of cases the harmony of the shape was lost, while evidence of luting lines often remained a problem. In the Yongle reign the proportions of pear-shaped vases achieved what many would regard as a perfect balance - with the widest point of the vessel occurring lower down the sides of the vase and providing pleasing proportions with the width of the neck and mouth. The finishing of these vessels is also fine, with luting lines skillfully disguised. While these features are important to those vases decorated in underglaze blue, they can best be appreciated on exquisite white-glazed vases such as the current example. White-glazed pear-shaped vases from the Yongle reign are extremely rare. However, two white-glazed yuhuchunping of much coarser quality than the current vessel were excavated in 1960 from the tomb of Song Sheng, Marquis of Xining, who died in AD 1407. The original 1962 excavation report in Kaogu stated that four of these pear-shaped bottles were found and that they measured 31 cm. in height, but the Nanjing and Beijing authorities confirmed to Sir John Addis that there were only two and these measured 26 cm. in height (illustrated and discussed by J.M. Addis in Chinese ceramics from datable tombs, London and New York, 1978, p. 94-5, pl. 37j). Judging from illustrations these excavated vases, from a tomb dating to the beginning of the Yongle reign, are closer in form to those of the mid-14th century than to those of the early 15th century. Excavations undertaken in Yongle strata at the Imperial kiln at Jingdezhen have revealed that more than 90 per cent of the pieces found were white-glazed. Although no images of excavated tianbai pear-shaped vases appear to have been published, excavators have recorded that amongst the early Yongle white wares unearthed in 1982-4 from stratum four and stratum five in the middle section of Zhushan Road were pear-shaped vases (see Liu Xinyuan in Imperial Porcelain of the Yongle and Xuande periods Excavated from the Site of the Ming Imperial Factory at Jingdezhen, Hong Kong, 1989, pp. 58-9). Illustrations have been published of a tianbai-glazed vase of more compressed and flattened, but essentially pear-shaped, form which was also excavated from the early Yongle strata in 1984 (illustrated ibid., p. 103, no. 10). This latter vase has a peach-shaped raised panel on each side, and provided the prototype for later vases of the Jiajing reign. However, a pear-shaped vase decorated with underglaze blue five-clawed dragons excavated in 1984 from the late Yongle stratum at Jingdezhen is much closer in form to the current vase, although slightly smaller (illustrated ibid., p. 169, no. 43). Two more Yongle blue and white yuhuchunping, which are similar in size to the current tianbai-glazed vase, have been published (illustrated in Imperial Hongwu and Yongle Porcelain excavated at Jingdezhen, Taipei, 1996, nos. 60 and 61). These vases, which are both decorated with floral scrolls, were excavated in 1994 from the Yongle strata at Dongmengtou, Jingdezhen. The beautiful white glaze on this vase is of a type known as tianbai 'sweet white'. As discussed in the introductory essay in this catalogue (pp. 10-11) the Yongle emperor had a particular fondness for white - especially white jade and white porcelain. It is probably this imperial preference that inspired the development of the so-called tianbai glaze. This glaze has a rather different appearance to that of earlier white glazes. The tianbai glaze has virtually none of the bluish or greenish tinge, which was seen on the earlier qingbai and Shufu glazes made at Jingdezhen in the Song and Yuan dynasties. It was made almost entirely from glaze stone with little or no glaze ash. The glaze was lower in calcium oxide than earlier white glazes, and was higher in potassium oxide. The body of tianbai wares had a higher proportion of aluminium oxide than previous Jingdezhen porcelains and required a higher firing temperature. The result of these changes in composition and firing was a whiter body covered with a purer white glaze than had previously been achieved. The texture of the glaze was also different to that of previous Jingdezhen white wares. The glaze had a silky, unctuous texture, with none of the glassiness seen on qingbai wares. The glaze contained many tiny bubbles, densely distributed in the glaze, which scattered the light as it passed through, imparting an almost jade-like quality. The tiny bubbles which burst on the surface of the glaze also created tiny pin-prick holes, and gave the surface its subtle, characteristic, 'orange-peel' effect. Research by the Chinese scholar Liu Xinyuan has revealed that this glaze was not known as tianbai in the 15th century (Liu Xingyuan in Imperial Porcelain of the Yongle and Xuande Periods Excavated from the Site of the Ming Imperial Factory at Jingdezhen, op. cit., p. 71-2). Liu discovered that it was not until the late 16th century that Huang Yizheng in his Shiwu gan zhu, published in the 19th year of the Wanli reign (AD 1591) used the phrase zong yan tian bai. It seems likely that by zong yan, which literally means 'bristle holes', he meant the tiny little pin-prick holes left by the burst bubbles on the glaze surface. Presumably the author was likening these tiny holes to those that might be left if the ends of single hairs were pressed into the surface. Liu also draws an interesting parallel between the use of the term tianbai, sweet white, and the discovery of a method for making white sugar at some point in the Jiajing reign (1522-66). This discovery is noted in a Qing dynasty publication Hexiangguan suo yan, a miscellany by Ding Guojun. Liu suggests that as white sugar, as opposed to dark sugar, was a relatively new phenomenon and was a fashionable condiment in the late 16th century, Huang Yizheng may well have been inspired to use it as a reference for the greatly admired white glaze. Liu Xinyuan has also noted that imperial admiration for white porcelain continued into the early part of the Xuande reign (See discussion ibid., p. 70). Liu believes that white wares were probably still predominant in the early part of the reign and cites Korean archives (Li Chao shi lu) relating to the gifts brought by Chinese imperial envoys to the Korean court in 1428 and 1429. The first gift consisted of equal numbers of white-glazed and blue and white porcelains, while the second gift consisted of white porcelains for fifteen table settings. Imperial gifts bestowed on honoured Chinese subjects also included white porcelain in the early Xuande period, as in the case of Yang Rong, who, according to his selected writings in Yang Wenmin Gong ji, received in 1426 not only writing implements used by the emperor himself, but also a variety of white porcelain vessels. Four years later the emperor bestowed upon Yang gifts of 'platinum, pearls, cash and white porcelain ...'. These records seem to confirm Liu Xinyuan's view that the refined tianbai glaze, developed in the reign of the Yongle Emperor, continued to find considerable favour with his successor. This current vase is enhanced by very refined decoration, which does not detract from its elegant form and subtle, jade-like glaze. The decoration is incised with a very fine point into the body, beneath the glaze. It is only if the viewer has the privilege of handling the vase that they can fully appreciate the decoration. As discussed in the introduction to this catalogue (pp. 10-11), the form of fruiting sprays in decoration on Yongle porcelains was almost certainly inspired by woodblock-printed illustrations in books such as materia medica. It is significant, for example, that the decoration on the current vase depicts both fruit and flowers on the pomegranate sprays, as this is how they were shown in such books on plants. The pomegranate would have been chosen for its auspicious wishes, since a ripe pomegranate, its skin split and its seeds visible, provides the rebus for liukai baize, 'Pomegranate revealing one hundred sons', or qianzi tongmo, 'One thousand sons within the same generation'. It was important for every family, especially the imperial family, to have sons. The flowers of the pomegranate also carried an auspicious wish, since pomegranate flowers were often worn by women, because of the fruit's association with the provision of sons, and the red colour of the flowers were believed to ward off evil, especially during the festival of Duanwujie. A similar white-glazed pear-shaped vase with incised floral scrolls is in the collection of the Topkapi Saray Museum, Istanbul. The neck of this vessel has been cut down and 17th century metal mounts have been added by Ottoman craftsman turning it into a matara flask (illustrated by J. Ayers and R. Krahl, Chinese Ceramics in the Topkapi Saray Museum Istanbul, vol. II, p. 525, no. 635). Related Yongle vessels include a vase formerly in the Tsui Museum of Art and illustrated in the museum catalogue, Hong Kong, 1991, no. 60; another in the Pilkington Collection, illustrated by Adrian M. Joseph, Ming Porcelains, Their Origins and Development, London, 1971, no. 94; and one formerly in the H.R.N. Norton Collection, sold at Sotheby's London, 26 March 1963, lot 56. An example from the Baur Collection, decorated with pomegranates within quatrefoil medallions, is illustrated by Daisy Lion-Goldschmidt in La Porcelaine Ming, Fribourg, 1978, p. 76, no. 41 (fig. 1).
明永樂　　甜白釉暗花榴開百子玉壺春瓶

YONGLE PERIOD (1403-1425)

細節
瓶撇口，束頸，溜肩，垂腹，圈足。通體施甜白釉暗花紋飾。頸刻卷草紋及如意雲頭各一周，腹部刻折枝石榴紋，枝幹舒展，花果並麗，榴實熟裂，下襯靈芝紋。足飾萬字紋一環。

此瓶造形靈巧秀美，釉質細緻瑩潤，暗花紋飾活潑盎然，為永樂白瓷中的代表作。永樂白釉玉壺春瓶本來就不多見，暗刻榴開百子紋的例子更是寥寥無幾。徐氏藝術館舊藏一件，著錄於1991年香港出版《徐氏藝術館揭幕展覽誌慶圖錄》，圖版60，1998 年11 月3 日於香港佳士得拍賣，拍品918 號；英國Pilkington 珍藏一例，載於1971 年倫敦出版Adrian M. Joseph 著《Ming Porcelains, Their Origins and Development》，圖94 號；再一件為H.R.N. Norton舊藏，1963年3月26日於倫敦蘇富比拍賣，拍品編號56。瑞士鮑氏東方藝術館藏有一例，暗刻海棠式開光石榴花果紋，載於1978 年出版Daisy Lion-Goldschmidt 著，《La Porcelaine Ming》，76頁，圖41號（圖一）；玫茵堂舊藏一例，較小（高29公分），飾暗花蓮紋，2011年4月7日於香港蘇富比拍賣，拍品49號。另可參考二例不同器形的明初甜白釉琢器，一為執壺，飾暗花芙蓉紋，源自日本萬野美術館，2002年10月28日於香港佳士得拍賣，拍品555號（圖二）；另一為梅瓶，飾暗花纏枝牡丹紋，2008年9月17日於紐約佳士得拍賣，拍品245 號（圖三）。

由景德鎮珠山永樂堆積層出土的瓷器逾九成為白釉器，但至今仍未發現白釉玉壺春瓶的出土件，不過青花玉壺春瓶卻有數例，見1996 年鴻禧美術館出版《景德鎮出土明初官窯瓷器》，圖版60、61。此器2004 年9 月22-23日於紐約蘇富比拍賣， 拍品275 號。
來源
Sold at Sotheby's New York, 22-23 September 2004, lot 275
出版
清浥秀絕—永樂白釉玉壺春瓶 蘇玫瑰 亞洲藝術部資深學術顧問 永樂玉壺春瓶一向是無數鑑藏家追求的珍品，獲譽為最優美的玉壺春瓶造型。元瓷玉壺春瓶器形雖優雅，卻欠精細，封泥痕太明顯。洪武窰玉壺春瓶體形寬大，外形有欠和諧，封泥痕的問題仍然存在。直至永樂窰玉壺春瓶才臻至完美的平衡，瓶腹最寬處為下半部，與頸及口部的寬度達成悅目的比例，加上器形修整細緻，不見封泥痕；這些特徵既能烘襯青花紋飾，配合本瓶所施的甜白釉更顯得無與倫比。 永樂白釉玉壺春瓶並不多見。參考1960年出土之1407年西寧侯宋晟墓葬兩件例子，均比不上此器精緻。根據1962年《考古》的發掘報告，該墓共出土了四件白釉玉壺春瓶，各高31公分。然而南京及北京當局後來向艾惕思爵士確定只發現兩瓶，各高26公分，見1978年倫敦及紐約出版J.M. Addis著《Chinese ceramics from datable tombs》，圖版37j。從圖片看，這些出土玉壺春瓶雖來自永樂朝，造型卻偏近十四世紀中葉多於明十五世紀初。 景德鎮御窰永樂堆積層出土陶瓷逾90%為白釉器，其中的甜白釉玉壺春瓶雖未有圖片發表，考古學家卻記錄1982至1984年間珠山路中段第四及第五層發現的永樂初年白釉器，亦包括玉壺春瓶，見1989年劉新園著文，載於1989年香港出版《景德鎮珠山出土永樂宣德官窰瓷器展覽》，58-59頁。從1984年出土的一件永樂早期甜白釉玉壺春瓶圖片來看，其外形矮扁（同上書，103頁，編號10），前後腹凸印桃形開光，相信啟發了後世嘉靖窰燒造同類的瓶形。同年出土另一件永樂晚期青花五爪龍紋玉壺春瓶，形制與本瓶近似，體形稍小（見169頁，編號43）。1994年景德鎮東門頭永樂堆積層出土二件青花花卉紋玉壺春瓶，大小亦與本瓶相若，載於1996年台北出版《景德鎮出土明初官窯瓷器》，圖版60-61號。 本玉壺春瓶所施白釉，如圖錄序文所述（14-15頁），應為迎合永樂皇帝崇白的品味，他尤其鍾愛白玉及白瓷，御窰因此致力發展甜白釉。永樂甜白釉不同於早期的白釉，釉色純白，不像宋元景德鎮生產青白瓷及樞府白瓷之釉色泛藍或青。甜白釉由純釉石提煉，不含釉灰，比其他白釉含氧化鈣量較低，含氧化鉀量較高；至於胎體則含氧化鋁較高，燒成溫度亦較高。因此無論胎體或釉色均較其他白瓷潔白，釉面亦與別不同，表現柔滑潤瑩，沒有青白釉的玻璃質感。甜白釉面有無數小氣泡，平均分佈於釉中，當光線穿越時，散發出玉質般的晶瑩。至於表面氣泡爆破後所產生針孔，更造成「橘皮紋」特徵。 學者劉新園指出明十五世紀時永樂白釉還未稱為「甜白釉」（見《景德鎮珠山出土永樂宣德官窰瓷器展覽》，71-72頁）；而至萬曆十九年（1591）黃一正著《事物紺珠》，才首次出現「騌眼甜白」一詞。其中「騌眼」應指釉面氣泡爆裂形成的針孔，該書作者甚至將它們比擬微細毛孔。劉新園提出嘉靖朝發明了白糖製法，可能與「甜白」一詞相關，清代丁國鈞編撰《荷香館瑣言》亦記載白糖的發明，因為白糖與原來的黑糖相反，成為晚明當時得令之物，推測黃一正因此引用「甜白」描述珍貴的永樂白釉。 劉新園並論述宣德初年延燒御製白瓷（見同書，70頁），相信當時白瓷還是主流。據載《李朝實錄》記錄了1428及1429年明朝出使朝鮮帶去的貢品，首批有數目相等的白瓷與青花瓷，第二61批為白瓷十五桌。宣德初年朝廷封贈重臣的禮物亦包括了白瓷，明臣楊榮在著作《楊文敏公集》中敘述自己於1426年獲賜御用的筆墨及不同的白瓷。四年後他再獲御賜：「白金、珍珠、鈔幣、白磁器……」這些記錄均引證永樂窰發展的甜白瓷延至宣德朝仍大行其道。 本玉壺春瓶紋飾細膩，完美地烘襯其優雅的外形及玉質般釉色，外壁暗花以細針刻於釉下胚胎，惟有手執細看時才能夠光照見影。如序文所述（14-15頁），永樂瓷器的果枝紋肯定受草藥書籍的版畫插圖啟發，最明顯是本瓶折枝石榴紋上花果共枝，與插圖中所繪相若。石榴紋寓意榴開百子或千子同膜，代表了家家戶戶尤其是皇家祈求百子千孫的願望。石榴花亦為婦人的經常配飾，因其果實象徵結子，紅花尤其於端午節能驅除邪魔。 伊斯坦堡托普卡比皇宮博物館收藏一件近似的白釉刻花卉紋玉壺春瓶，其頸部截短，另鑲嵌十七世紀的奧圖曼金屬，變成了土耳其皮袋式壺，見1986年倫敦出版 J. Ayers、R. Krahl合著《Chinese Ceramics in the Topkapi Saray Museum Istanbul》，第二集，525頁，編號635。徐氏藝術館舊藏一件相近的永樂玉壺春瓶，見1991年香港出版的館藏圖錄，編號60。Pilkington Collection收藏另一例子，載於1971年倫敦出版Adrian M. Joseph著《Ming Porcelains, Their Origins and Development》，編號94。H.R.N. Norton Collection舊藏一例，1963年3月26日於倫敦蘇富比拍賣，拍品56號。瑞士鮑氏東方藝術館收藏一件同類的四棱式開光石榴紋，載於1978年弗里堡出版Daisy Lion-Goldschmidt著《La Porcelaine Ming》，76頁，編號41（圖一）。

榮譽呈獻

Ruben Lien
Ruben Lien

查閱狀況報告或聯絡我們查詢更多拍品資料

852 2760 1766

登入
瀏覽狀況報告

拍品專文

The present vase is very rare and only a few other examples of this form and incised decoration are known. One was formerly in the Tsui Museum of Art and illustrated in the museum catalogue, Hong Kong, 1991, no. 60, sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 3 November 1998, lot 918; another in the Pilkington Collection, illustrated by Adrian M. Joseph, Ming Porcelains, Their Origins and Development, London, 1971, no. 94; and a third formerly in the H.R.N. Norton Collection, sold at Sotheby's London, 26 1963, lot 56. A related yuhuchunping incised with pomegranate within quatrefoil medallions is in the Baur Foundation, illustrated by Daisy Lion-Goldschmidt, La Porcelaine Ming, Fribourg, 1978, p. 76, no. 41 (fig. 1); while another slightly shorter example (29 cm.) incised with a lotus design from the Meiyintang Collection, was sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 7 April 2011, lot 49.

For other early Ming tianbai-glazed vessels of vertical form, compare to a very rare ewer incised with hibiscus flowers, formerly in the Manno Art Museum, sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 28 October 2002, lot 555 (fig. 2); and a very rare meiping incised with a peony scroll sold at Christie's New York, 17 September 2008, lot 245 (fig. 3).

Excavations at the Imperial kiln sites at Jingdezhen indicate that white wares were popular in the Yongle reign, although no white-glazed pear-shaped vase appears to have been excavated to date. However, excavated examples of blue and white yuhuchunping have been found from the Yongle stratum at Jingdezhen, such as the two vases illustrated in Imperial Hongwu and Yongle Porcelain excavated at Jingdezhen, Chang Foundation, Kaohsiung, 1996, nos. 60 and 61.

更多來自 繽采御瓷：美國精粹收藏珍品

查看全部
查看全部