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A Meeting of East and West - Early Double Gourd Moonflasks
Rosemary Scott - International Academic Director, Asian Art
For most connoisseurs of Chinese ceramics the so-called moonflasks are classic Chinese porcelain forms. However, the form has a surprisingly long history in Western art, although it is probable that the Chinese early Ming dynasty form was inspired either by metalwork or glass of the Islamic era.1 However, one of the earliest flattened circular flasks with handles joining the mouth of the vessel to the shoulder on either side of the neck can be traced back to the ancient world. Perhaps the most famous versions of this form, sometimes referred to as a 'stirrup jar', is the unglazed pottery flask decorated with an octopus painted in dark brown, which was found among the late Minoan artefacts at Palaikastro on the island of Crete. The Minoan flask dates to about 1500 BC, and thus was contemporary with the Shang dynasty in China.2
One version of the Chinese ceramic moonflask shape, which has no upper bulb, but simply a circular body with rounded edges looks as though should have its origins in two bowls being stuck together rim to rim, although in fact the early Chinese form is luted horizontally, not vertically. The Minoan flask, however, appears to have been made in precisely the former method, and the foot of the bowl can be seen in the area of the octopus's eyes. Although somewhat less flattened than some of the later vessels from various other cultures, early pottery flasks such as the Minoan example must have been their ancestors. Examples of slightly later vessels are the flattened circular flasks from Nineveh - in this case with their handles on the shoulders - dating to the Parthian period (150 BC-AD 250), which is roughly contemporary with the Han dynasty in China.3 Looking at the carved and pecked decoration on certain of these Parthian vessels, some scholars have suggested that it is reminiscent of stitching, and harks back to the shape's origins in leather, although the twin-bowl Minoan vessel from more than a thousand years earlier should be borne in mind.
A number of glazed pottery flasks of flattened circular form with handles on either side of the neck are found among Sassanian ceramics (AD 224-642). A small Sassanian flask with turquoise glaze, from Sus, in the Iran Bastan Museum, is close to the Parthian example, and reasonably close to one of the early fifteen century Chinese porcelain vessels - the strap handles joining the lower part neck, if not the mouth.4 A green glazed earthenware pilgrim flask, also from Sus, dates to the Sassanian period (AD 224-642), and is also in the collection of the Iran Bastan Museum, Teheran.5 This flask has flat encircling sides forming a relatively sharp junction with the front and back circular panels, which are noticeably domed, similar to later metalwork examples, and also similar to the lower section of the Riesco flask. Interestingly a similarly shaped flask - circular with sharp angles to flat sides - was made in China during the Liao dynasty (916-1125), and a green-glazed example - without handles, but with six loops spaced around the flat sides for suspending the vessel from a saddle - was excavated from a tomb in Inner Mongolia in 1965.6 Unlike most early circular flasks this vessels stands on a rectangular foot similar to that on the Riesco flask.
A number of similarities can be seen between this 10th-11th century vessel and both the flattened double-gourd flasks made in China in the Yongle and Xuande reigns - such as the Riesco example - and the large, flat-backed Chinese porcelain flasks without an upper section, which were made in the early 15th century, with loop handles on the sides of the vessel.7
A distinct foot can also be seen on a green glass flask in the Tareq Rajab Museum in Kuwait (fig .1).8 This is a Syrian flask from the late 7th or early 8th century - contemporary with the Tang dynasty in China, and was made of mould blown and cut glass. A vessel of identical form was found in an excavation at Tarsus in south-eastern Anatolia in the 1930s, in a context with Umayyad and early Abbasid pottery. The handles attach only to the lower part of the neck of this vessel. Although these glass forms could have made their way to China, as Near Eastern glass was much appreciated in the Tang dynasty, metalwork seems a more likely inspiration for the specific form of the Riesco flask. There is a somewhat larger Syrian brass canteen, dating to the mid-13th century, in the collection of the Freer Gallery, Washington,9 which is of very similar form to the lower section of the Riesco flask and has close similarities with the single section, flat-backed flask sold by Christie's in November 2007 (fig. 2). Interestingly the brass canteen is decorated with Christian imagery as well as calligraphy, geometric designs and animal scrolls. This Syrian mid-13th century brass canteen in the Freer Gallery appears to be the only published example of such a metal vessel, but it shares a number of features with the form of the Riesco porcelain flask, having both a bulb-shaped mouth and similarly S-form handles.
When the flattened flasks with upper and lower section in double-gourd form appear in porcelain at the Chinese Imperial kilns at Jingdezhen in the early 15th century, they appear with two distinct proportions, and in both plain white and blue and white. The larger vessels with a height of about 30 cm tend to have a smaller upper bulb in proportion to their lower, flattened, section, while the smaller version, with a height of about 25 cm. tend to have a more generous upper bulb in proportion to the lower, flattened, section. A plain white example of the larger type from the Yongle reign (1403-24), which was excavated from the early Yongle stratum at the Imperial kilns, is illustrated in Imperial Porcelain of the Yongle and Xuande Periods Excavated from the Site of the Ming Imperial Factory at Jingdezhen, Hong Kong, 1989, pp. 92-93, no. 5. A blue and white Yongle flask of the smaller size is in the collection of the British Museum.10 This flask has the same decoration as the Riesco Xuande example. Another example of the smaller type is in the S.C. Ko Tianminlou Collection (fig. 3). Although large and smaller flasks decorated and undecorated were made in the Yongle and Xuande periods, the Yongle vessels usually stand on an oval foot, while the Xuande examples usually have a rectangular foot. The Yongle vessels do not have reign marks, while some of the Xuande flasks, such as the Riesco example, have the reign mark written in underglaze blue in a horizontal line below the mouth.
It has been suggested by some authors that these flasks, particularly the blue and white examples with decoration clearly inspired by Islamic arabesques, were made solely for export to the Islamic West. However, one crucial piece of evidence suggests that this is not entirely true. A shard from one of these flasks, bearing the same decoration as the Riesco vessel was excavated from the Yongle/Xuande stratum at the site of the early Ming dynasty Imperial Palace in Nanjing.11 Clearly these elegant flasks were also appreciated by the Chinese court in the first half of the 15th century.
1 As argued by B. Gray in 'The Influence of Near Eastern Metalwork on Chinese Ceramics', Transactions of the Oriental Ceramic Society, vol. 18, 1940-41, p. 57 and pl. 7F.
2 Illustrated on https://www.ceramicstudies.me.uk/frame 1 tu5.html. also in Spyridon Marinatos and Max Hirmer, Crete and Mycenae, New York, 1960, pl. 87.
3 A number are preserved in the collection of the British Museum.
4 The World's Great Collections - Oriental Ceramics, Vol. 4, Iran Bastan Museum Tehran, Tokyo, 1981, colour plate 12.
5 Ibid., black and white plate no. 101.
6 See Zhongguo wenwu jinghua daquan - Taoci juan, Taipei, 1994, p. 164, no. 560.
7 One of these latter vessels was sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 27 November 2007, lot 1664.
8 Illustrated on https://www.trmkt.com/glassdetails.htm.
9 Illustrated on https://www.asia.si.edu/exhibitions/online/islamic/artofobject1b.htm.
10 Illustrated by J. Harrison Hall, Ming Ceramics in the British Museum, London, 2001, p. 110, no. 3:21.
11 See A Legacy of the Ming, Hong Kong, 1996, p. 48, no. 52.
明宣德 青花輪花紋綬帶耳葫蘆式扁瓶 六字楷書橫款
XUANDE SIX-CHARACTER MARK IN A LINE AND OF THE PERIOD (1426-1435)
細節
瓶葫蘆式，直口，上部鼓圓，下部扁圓，束頸，長方足。下部兩面飾寶相花紋，近邊環半錢紋；一面寶相花正中飾太極陰陽紋，另一面正中飾放射式花瓣紋。上部正中環飾花卉紋。頸至肩部置綬帶雙耳。口沿外雙弦紋之間青花書「大明宣德年製」楷書橫款。
1982年景德鎮御窰遺址出土一件較高例子，上部較小，見1998年台北出版《景德鎮出土明宣德官窯瓷器》，圖版24號。臺北故宮收藏一例，其形制、紋飾與本瓶相若，載於1998年台北出版《明代宣德官窯菁華特展圖錄》，圖版21號。另清宮舊藏二例，一例如本器口下書六字橫款，體形卻較高，上部比例較小；另一例形制、大小與本瓶相若，無款，載於2000年香港出版故宮博物院藏文物珍品全集《青花釉裏 ．上》，圖版94、95 號。
倫敦大維德中國藝術基金會收藏一件與本瓶完全相同的宣德款扁瓶，見1992 年倫敦出版R. Scott 著《Elegant
Form and Harmonious Decoration - Four Dynasties of Jingdezhen
Porcelain》，編號41。其他近似的宣德款例子，包括英國帕爾默、香港靜觀堂先後舊藏一件，1997年11月5日於香港佳士得拍賣，拍品890 號；仇焱之舊藏一件，1980 年11 月25 日於香港蘇富比拍賣，拍品7 號。
此器源自法國駐北京大使；後由J.F. Woodthorpe（1897-1966年）收藏；1954年4月6日於倫敦蘇富比拍賣，拍品25號。曾展出於倫敦東方陶瓷學會1953-54 年舉辦《Loan Exhibition of Chinese Blue and White Porcelain 14th to 19th
Centuries》展覽，圖錄編號91。著錄於1957 年12 月出版《Antique Collectors》；1954 年倫敦出版H. Garner 著《Oriental
Blue and White》，圖版31A；1987 年克羅伊登博物館出版《Riesco Collection of Chinese Ceramics Handlist》，編號87。
里埃斯科收藏編號220S。
1982年景德鎮御窰遺址出土一件較高例子，上部較小，見1998年台北出版《景德鎮出土明宣德官窯瓷器》，圖版24號。臺北故宮收藏一例，其形制、紋飾與本瓶相若，載於1998年台北出版《明代宣德官窯菁華特展圖錄》，圖版21號。另清宮舊藏二例，一例如本器口下書六字橫款，體形卻較高，上部比例較小；另一例形制、大小與本瓶相若，無款，載於2000年香港出版故宮博物院藏文物珍品全集《青花釉裏 ．上》，圖版94、95 號。
倫敦大維德中國藝術基金會收藏一件與本瓶完全相同的宣德款扁瓶，見1992 年倫敦出版R. Scott 著《Elegant
Form and Harmonious Decoration - Four Dynasties of Jingdezhen
Porcelain》，編號41。其他近似的宣德款例子，包括英國帕爾默、香港靜觀堂先後舊藏一件，1997年11月5日於香港佳士得拍賣，拍品890 號；仇焱之舊藏一件，1980 年11 月25 日於香港蘇富比拍賣，拍品7 號。
此器源自法國駐北京大使；後由J.F. Woodthorpe（1897-1966年）收藏；1954年4月6日於倫敦蘇富比拍賣，拍品25號。曾展出於倫敦東方陶瓷學會1953-54 年舉辦《Loan Exhibition of Chinese Blue and White Porcelain 14th to 19th
Centuries》展覽，圖錄編號91。著錄於1957 年12 月出版《Antique Collectors》；1954 年倫敦出版H. Garner 著《Oriental
Blue and White》，圖版31A；1987 年克羅伊登博物館出版《Riesco Collection of Chinese Ceramics Handlist》，編號87。
里埃斯科收藏編號220S。
來源
French Ambassador to Peking
John Frederick Woodthorpe (1897-1966)
Sold at Sotheby's London, 6 April 1954, lot 25
Raymond F.A. Riesco Collection, no. 220s
John Frederick Woodthorpe (1897-1966)
Sold at Sotheby's London, 6 April 1954, lot 25
Raymond F.A. Riesco Collection, no. 220s
出版
西範東詮 — 明初葫蘆式扁瓶
蘇玫瑰 亞洲藝術部資深學術顧問
對中國陶瓷鑑藏家來說，扁瓶是中國瓷器造型之一。明初瓷器扁瓶或許源自伊斯蘭金銀器或玻璃器，這類扁瓶於西方藝術卻是源遠流長。(1)相關的圓腹扁瓶，雙耳連接口與肩部，最早例子可追溯至遠古時代，包括著名的米諾斯晚期彩陶章魚紋「馬鐙罐」，該褐彩紋罐出土於希臘克里特島上帕萊卡斯特羅，定年公元前1500 年製造，相等於中國商代。(2)
中國陶瓷扁瓶中有單圓扁瓶，貌似二盌前後對黏而成；中國早期的圓扁瓶一般卻是封泥痕呈橫向而非直向。米諾斯馬鐙罐正是由二盌對黏形成，盌足可見於腹部章魚眼處。這類原始彩陶扁瓶造型較其他文化後來的例子圓鼓，卻是此形的始祖。古亞述首都尼尼微出土的較晚期圓扁瓶，雙耳僅置於肩部，定年為帕提亞王朝（公元前150 至公元後250年），約與漢代同期。(3)部份帕提亞陶器以鑿刻手法裝飾，有學者認為紋飾類似針步，應為模仿皮壺；然而早它逾一千年出現的米諾斯雙盌式圓扁瓶，還是有其影響的。
至於薩珊王朝（224-642年）陶瓷亦不乏雙耳圓扁瓶。伊朗古代博物館收藏一件松綠釉背壺，出土於Sus，與帕提亞扁瓶相近，並呈現明十五世紀初瓷器肩頸處置皮索式雙耳的特徵，其雙耳不及口邊。(4)該館收藏另一件薩珊綠釉陶扁瓶，同樣出土於Sus，(5)其兩側弧形，與前後拱圓面以折邊相連，造型與後期的金銀器近似，亦與里埃斯科珍藏的葫蘆式扁瓶下半部相若。1965年內蒙古墓葬出土一件相類的遼代綠釉壺，無耳，其弧側等距離置六圈耳，應作懸掛馬鞍之用。(6)該器與里埃斯科扁瓶同樣呈長方足，這方面與其他圓扁瓶略有不同。前述的遼代綠釉背壺與明永樂、宣德葫蘆式扁瓶有很多共通之處。明十五世紀初例子包括里埃斯科扁瓶，以及一些青花纏枝蓮紋雙圈耳圓扁瓶。(7)
科威特塔里克拉賈博物館收藏一件綠玻璃圓扁瓶（圖一），以吹模、切割方法製成，器足非常獨特。(8)該器定為七世紀末或八世紀初敘利亞產品，相等於中國唐代。1930年代土耳其安拿朵利亞東南部塔爾索出土一件造型相同的器物，同時還發現安賈爾及阿巴斯王朝的陶器。塔爾索扁瓶的雙耳只限於頸部，同類器當時可能就傳到中國，因為唐代甚流行西域玻璃器。里埃斯科扁瓶的原型卻更可能是金屬器。華盛頓弗瑞爾美術館收藏一件十三世紀中葉敘利亞銅壺，體形較大，(9)其外形近似里埃斯科扁瓶的下腹，並與佳士得2007年11月拍賣之圓扁瓶相近（圖二）。該敘利亞銅壺飾以基督教人物、字體、幾何圖案、動物紋邊框，極為珍罕，未見其他相同例子的著錄。它與里埃斯科扁瓶卻有多處特徵相同，包括蒜頭口及弧形綬帶耳。
明十五世紀初景德鎮御窰始燒的葫蘆式扁瓶，出現兩種不同的上下腹比例，並純以青花裝飾。較大款式高約30公分，上腹圓渾，下腹扁平，上小下大的比例差距大。較小款式高約25公分，上下腹比例接近。景德鎮御窰遺址永樂初期堆積層出土一件白釉葫蘆式扁瓶，屬較大款式，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》圖錄，編號5。
另大英博物館收藏一件永樂青花葫蘆式扁瓶，屬較小款式，(10)其紋飾並與里埃斯科扁瓶相若。天民樓亦藏一件（圖三）。永樂及宣德年間燒造了帶紋飾或光素的大小葫蘆扁瓶；永樂扁瓶一般置橢圓圈足，宣德例子多帶長方足；永樂器向不施款，宣德器如里埃斯科扁瓶，則多於口下青花書宣德橫款。
一些作者認為這些葫蘆式扁瓶，尤其是帶伊斯蘭蔓藤紋飾，應為出口西方伊斯蘭市場的產品。證據卻顯示這並非全部屬實。明十五世紀上半葉南京皇城遺址永樂/ 宣德堆積層曾出土青花瓷片，紋飾與里埃斯科扁瓶相若，(11) 顯示此類扁瓶亦為宮廷器重。
1 B. Gray ‘The Influence of Near Eastern Metalwork on Chinese Ceramics’, Transactions of the Oriental Ceramic Society, vol. 18, 1940-41, p. 57 and pl. 7F.
2 見圖 https://www.ceramicstudies.me.uk/frame 1 tu5.html. 以及 Spyridon Marinatos and Max Hirmer, Crete and Mycenae, New York, 1960, pl. 87.
3 大英博物館收藏一些例子。
4 The World’s Great Collections - Oriental Ceramics, Vol. 4, Iran Bastan Museum Tehran,
Tokyo, 1981, colour plate 12.
5 同上書，黑白圖101 號。
6 1994 年台北出版《中國文物精華大全．陶瓷卷》，編號560。
7 其中一例曾於2007 年11 月倫敦佳士得拍賣。
8 見圖 https://www.trmkt.com/glassdetails.htm
9 見圖 https://www.asia.si.edu/exhibitions/online/islamic/artofobject1b.htm
10 J. Harrison Hall, Ming Ceramics in the British Museum, London, 2001, p. 110, no. 3:21.
11 1996 年香港出版《朱明遺萃：南京明故 出土陶瓷》，編號52。
展覽
Oriental Ceramic Society, Loan Exhibition of Chinese Blue and White Porcelain 14th to 19th Centuries, London, 16 December 1953-23 January 1954, Catalogue, no. 91
榮譽呈獻
Ruben Lien
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