Page 16 - Christie's, THREE IMPERIAL TREASURES Chinese Porcelain May 30 to June 1, 2023 Hong Kong

fig. 1 Collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei fig. 2 Collection of the National Museum of China, Beijing

圖一 國立故宮博物院藏品 圖二 中國國家博物館藏品

commonly found on yangcai porcelains in the Qianlong period. The neck that the manufacturing of these vessels began in 1743 as mentioned earlier
is applied with two brown-glazed archaistic kui dragon handles with gilt is based on a memorial submitted by Tang Yin in that year, which stated
decoration, a motif often found on Qianlong period porcelains. Similar that ‘your servant has designed nine types of new vases involving ‘enclosed
archaistic dragon handles are seen on revolving vases, such as those on layers’, ‘reticulated decoration’ and ‘interlocking components’.’ From
the vase with reticulated kui dragon designs (fig. 2) in the collection of this statement, we know that these revolving vases make use of several
National Museum of China. In the Beijing Palace Museum, there are also techniques, including ‘enclosed layers’, where the inner vase is enclosed
revolving vases with archaistic phoenix handles (fig. 3) and elephant-head by an outer layer; ‘reticulated decoration’, where decoration is carved so
handles (see Porcelains with Cloisonne Enamel Decoration and Famille Rose one can see through to the inner layer; and ‘interlocking components’,
Decoration, Hong Kong, 1999, pl. 155 and 156). The eye-catching highlight where the upper and lower parts appear interlocked but are actually made
of the ingenious double-layered revolving vase is the intricate painting separately, an example of which is the yangcai yellow ground sgraffito
or decoration on the inner vase, which can be seen moving through the interlocked revolving vase (fig. 4) in the Taipei Palace Museum.
reticulated design of the outer vase while it turns. The mechanism and
manufacture of these vases are complex and laborious. The assumption

目前存世收藏在世界各地博物館的轉心瓶，雖然數量有限但品類豐富， 轉心瓶這項有著精巧設計的雙層瓶器，最吸引目光的就是觀者透過腹
樣式各異。本拍品約40公分高，為乾隆年間流行的長頸瓶式樣，造型為 部的開光或鏤空處，在瓶身轉動時可以看到內瓶的圖案或精緻圖畫，
長頸、豐肩、鏤空圓腹，外撇圈足。瓶內和瓶底皆施湖綠色釉，底以青花 其接合與燒製的工序繁複。前文述及轉心瓶約始於乾隆八年，學界主
書「大清乾隆年製」六字篆款，署款樣式在乾隆時期洋彩瓷器上是最常 要依據唐英於乾隆八年呈給乾隆皇帝的奏摺而推論，奏摺中曾提到「
見的款識。此外，瓶頸兩側有一對醬釉描金夔龍耳，這種仿古的夔龍造 奴才又新擬得夾層玲瓏交泰等瓶共九種」，也因此我們可以知道轉心
型裝飾在乾隆一朝的瓷器中很常見，轉心瓶亦有所應用，如中國國家博 瓶所使用的技法，包括內外兩層相套的「夾層」結構、使用透雕鏤空技
物館收藏的〈粉彩鏤雕夔龍紋轉心瓶〉即與本拍品有類似的夔龍耳（圖 法的「玲瓏」，以及瓶體的上下部份分離，但以紋樣交錯的方式相互鈎

二 ，文物細節見中國國家博物館網站）。北京故宮收藏的轉心瓶中，還 套而使得瓶身形成一體的「交泰」等表現技法，如臺北故宮的 〈洋彩
有以夔鳳（圖三 ，文物細節見《琺瑯彩‧粉彩》，香港：商港，1999年，圖 黃錦地乾坤交泰轉旋瓶〉即為此種技法（圖四 ，見《華麗彩瓷：乾隆洋
版157），或以象頭為轉心瓶的雙耳（圖見《琺瑯彩‧粉彩》，圖版155和 彩》，國立故宮博物，2008 年，頁206）。而本拍品則同時使用了夾層和
156）。

16 THE IMPERIAL PALETTE THREE QIANLONG TREASURES