Page 152 - Christie's IMPORTANT CHINESE Ceramics and Works of Art may 28 2021 hk

AN EXCEPTIONALLY RARE XUANDE KUI DRAGON JAR

Rosemary Scott Senior International Academic Consultant Asian Art

This vibrantly-painted jar is an exceptionally rare example of Xuande 此例宣德青花夔龍紋罐珍罕之至，其畫工妙趣橫
porcelain decorated with kui dragons. The kui dragons ( 夔龍 kuilong) which 生。罐以夔龍為主紋飾，這類題材源自印度教的摩
dominate the decoration on the jar derive from the makara of Hindu origin. 羯魚，其梵文名稱「makara」原指「海龍」，是恒
In Sanskrit makara means ‘sea dragon’ and in Hindu beliefs it is the vehicle for
the river goddess Ganga, who is the personification of the River Ganges and is 河女神之坐騎，信眾視女神為純潔與寬恕的化身。
worshipped as the goddess of purification and forgiveness. Varuna, the god of 海神伐樓拿代表正義和真理，他的坐騎同樣是摩羯
the sea, who is associated with justice and truth, is also depicted riding a makara. 魚。根據印度教與佛門造像儀軌，摩羯魚專司守護
In both Hindu and Buddhist iconography makara protected gateways and 宮殿、廟宇之通道和入口。較諸商周青銅器的夔龍
thresholds to palaces and temples. The kui dragon which appears on Chinese ( 另有出處 )，元代以降中國藝術題材中的夔紋大相
works of art from the Yuan dynasty onwards is distinct from the kui dragon,
of different origin, which appears on Chinese cast bronze vessels of the Shang 逕庭。摩羯魚所衍生的夔龍形象，應是隨着佛教的
and Zhou dynasties. The makara-derived kui dragons enter the Chinese artistic 普及，而被逐漸納入中國藝術題材。
repertoire with the dissemination of Buddhism.
元代及明初的夔龍，均以守護通道和門戶的神獸形
In both the Yuan and early Ming dynasties kui dragons were used in their 象出現。以河北昌平著名的居庸關漢白玉雲台為
protective capacity to decorate gateways and doorways. Kui dragons can still be 例，其紋飾中便有淺浮雕夔龍，雖然年款約為公元
seen in bas-relief on the famous marble ceremonial gateway, Juyongguan 居庸 1243 年，但很可能完成於十四世紀。這座元代關城
關 , at Changpingxian 昌平縣 , Hebei province, which bears an inscribed date
th
equivalent to AD 1243, but was probably completed in the 14 century. This 地處內蒙古與今河北省交界，位於元大都 ( 今北京 )
Yuan dynasty gateway marked the boundary between Inner Mongolia and what 通往忽必烈的上都避暑行宮 (內蒙古境內) 之要道。
is now Hebei province and was on the road between the Mongol capital of 居庸關面南券門下方刻夔龍紋，圖見 W. Watson 著
Khanbaliq (modern day Beijing) and Kubulai Khan’s Summer capital of Xanadu 作《L’art de l’ancienne Chine》頁 513 圖 748 ( 巴黎：
( 上都 Shangdu) in modern day Inner Mongolia. On the southern exterior face 1979)。券門正中的毗濕奴身騎金翅鳥，左右脅侍人
of the gateway, the lower voussoirs are carved with kui dragons (see W. Watson,
L’art de l’ancienne Chine, Paris, 1979, p. 513, fig. 748). At the top of this arch 首蛇身，再往下便是夔龍。位於南京的大報恩寺琉
Vishnu is shown seated on Garuda and flanked by human-headed serpents, and 璃塔，其著名的五色琉璃磚門框也採用了近似的紋
it is below these that the kui dragons appear. The same arrangement is depicted 飾格局，明永樂帝於公元 1412 年命人製作該塔，
on the famous polychrome glazed tile door frames from the Da Baoensi 大報 再由其子宣德皇帝諭令，於公元 1431 年竣工。其
恩寺 pagoda (Porcelain pagoda) at Nanjing, which was commissioned by the 中一道門框現於南京市博物館展出，圖見新加坡文
Ming dynasty Yongle Emperor in AD 1412 and completed on the orders of
his son, the Xuande Emperor, in AD 1431. One of these door frames has been 物館出版的《Urban Life in the Song, Yuan & Ming》
erected in the Nanjing City Museum (see Empress Place Museum, Urban Life 頁 28 ( 新加坡：1994)。同樣的構圖亦見於若干十五
in the Song, Yuan & Ming, Singapore, 1994, p. 28). The same arrangement, with 世紀的緞地唐卡，其夔龍位置大同小異，香港曾展
th
similar positioning of the kui dragons, can also be seen on a number of 15 出三例，圖見《錦繡羅衣巧天工》頁 136-141 編號
century silk thangkas, including three exhibited in Heavens’ Embroidered Cloths – 28-30 ( 香港：1995)。
One Thousand Years of Chinese Textiles, Hong Kong, 1995, pp. 136-141, nos. 28-30.
成化之前，畫瓷師鮮用夔龍題材。然而，在景德鎮
Until the Chenghua reign kui dragons were rarely painted on porcelains.
However, excavations of the Xuande stratum at the imperial kilns at Zhushan, 御窯珠山宣德瓷堆， 1984 年曾出土一件比本拍品略
Jingdezhen in 1984 unearthed a blue and white jar, slightly larger than the 大的青花罐，其主紋飾帶繪夔紋，下方襯蓮瓣一匝，
current vessel, with kui dragons in the main decorative band above encircling 圖見《景德鎮出土明宣德官窯瓷器》展覽圖錄頁 13
lotus petals (see Chang Foundation, Xuande Imperial Porcelain excavated at 編號 3 ( 台北：鴻禧美術館，1998)。此罐器底青花
Jingdezhen, Taipei, 1998, p. 13, no. 3). This jar bears a six-character Xuande
mark written in underglaze blue within a double circle on its base. A similar, 雙圈內書六字宣德款。1989 年 5 月，香港蘇富比亦
but unmarked jar was sold by Sotheby’s Hong Kong in May 1989, where it 曾拍出一例斷代為永樂的無款近似罐。1982 年，珠
was dated to the Yongle reign. A kui dragon, accompanied by a phoenix, was 山御窯曾出土一件宣德硯滴，其釉下青花紋飾中也
also painted in underglaze blue on a Xuande water dropper excavated at the 有夔龍，佐以鳳紋，圖見前述鴻福美術館出版著作

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