Page 28 - Christie's, THREE IMPERIAL TREASURES Chinese Porcelain May 30 to June 1, 2023 Hong Kong

A MAGNIFICENT AND VERY RARE
28 28 THE IMPERIAL P ALETTE
THE IMPERIAL PALETTE THREE QIANLONG TREASURES
QIANLONG DOUCAI MOONFLASK
ROSEMARY SCOTT, INDEPENDENT SCHOLAR
This moonflask is a superb and impressively large example of a particularly
challenging form. The fact that the wide body of the vessel stands on a small flared
foot, which is especially narrow where it meets the body, would have made the
porcelain vessel inherently unstable during firing. This inherent instability would
have been exacerbated by the flattened body shape, and these firing difficulties would
have increased in proportion to the size of the vessel. It is to be expected that there
would have been many kiln failures in order to produce the current successfully-fired
flask.
The moonflask shape with paired handles was adopted in the early 15th century at
the imperial porcelain kilns and was made in two versions - one without a foot (see
Rosemary Scott, Elegant Form and Harmonious Decoration – Four Dynasties of Jingdezhen
Porcelain, London, 1992, p. 42, no. 29) and one, the predecessor of the current flask,
with a flared foot (ibid. p. 39, no. 26). 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. Indeed, an unglazed earthenware flask of this form, decorated
with a painted octopus, and dating to the Late Minoan period, c. 1500 BC, was found
at Palaikastro in eastern Crete (see Spyridon Marinatos and Max Hirmer, Crete and
Mycenae, Harry N. Abrams, New York, 1960, pl. 87). Glazed earthenware examples
have been found at Šuš, Iran, dating to the Sassanian period (AD 224-642) (see The
World’s Great Collections – Oriental Ceramics, vol. 4, Iran Bastan Museum, Tehran, Tokyo,
1981, colour plate 12). However, it is probable that the early 15th century Chinese
porcelain flasks of this shape were inspired by glass or metal vessels of similar form,
which came into China from Egypt, Syria or Iran. There are close parallels to be
清乾隆 鬥彩蒼龍教子圖夔龍耳抱月瓶
蘇玫瑰 (獨立學者)
此例扁瓶品相一流、敦碩大氣，然其形制極難駕馭。鑑於器腹寬廣，且撇足小
巧，足與腹交接處尤窄，故窯燒時難以安放。再加上器身扁平，使其固有的不穩
定性有增無減，而體積越大，諸多燒造難題亦相應遞增。燒造完美如本品者，窯
燒過程之艱辛困阻可想而知。
雙耳扁瓶之樣式創燒於十五世紀初宮廷御窯，當時的版本有二：一者無足，就
此可參見拙作《形秀色麗四代珍》頁42編號29 (倫敦：1992)；其二承撇足，即本
拍品之前身，參見前述著作頁39編號26。這種器身扁圓、口肩之間置對稱雙耳
的樣式，可謂源遠流長。誠然，位於克里特島東面的帕萊卡斯特羅便曾出土同
類型的章魚紋無釉陶壺，其斷代為公元前約1500年米諾斯晚期，詳見Spyridon
Marinatos與Max Hirmer合著的《Crete and Mycenae》圖版87 (紐約：Harry
N. Abrams，1960)。伊朗蘇薩也曾出土薩珊時期的近似掛釉陶器 (公元224至
THREE QIANLONG TREASURES