Page 72 - Christie's IMPORTANT CHINESE Ceramics and Works of Art may 28 2021 hk

DRAGONS FROM THE EMPIRE - IMPERIAL CERAMICS FROM THE YIDETANG COLLECTION
龍行皇天 - 藝德堂珍藏御製陶瓷
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A RARE LARGE DATED SANCAI-GLAZED 明萬曆四十年（1612）
POTTERY ‘DRAGON’ CENSER 三彩琉璃釉雙龍戲珠紋三足大香爐

DATED WANLI 40TH YEAR BY INSCRIPTION, CORRESPONDING TO 「大明國萬曆四十年歲次壬子吉月製造 」刻款
1612 AND OF THE PERIOD 來源
The exterior of the censer is boldly carved in high relief around Falk 舊藏，編號 57
the sides with a pair of scaly four-clawed dragons emerging from 紐約佳士得，2001 年 10 月 16 日，拍品 150 號
clouds and confronted below a black flaming pearl on the neck,
with a yellow ruyi collar pendent from the upright rim incised in 此類大型、釉色鮮麗的三足香爐至少於元代即已出現。1964 年，北京元
a panel on one side with the dated inscription, Da Mingguo Wanli 大都德勝門遺址曾出土一件較小的三彩龍鳳紋香爐（37 公分）。紐約大
sishi nian suici renzi jiyue zhizao, ‘Made in the auspicious month 都會博物館亦藏有一件近似的三彩龍鳳紋香爐（43.5 公分），上有正德
of the renzi cycle in the 40th year of the Wanli reign of the Great 七年（1512）紀年銘款（圖一）。
Ming dynasty’, flanked by a pair of upright handles carved with a
vertical ribbed band between a ruyi terminal below and another 此類香爐的誕生與琉璃磚應有密切的關係。琉璃磚的主要產區為山西。
overhanging above, all supported on three cabriole legs emerging 用於重要建築時，多帶有紀年銘款。倫敦維多利亞與亞伯特博物舘藏有
from lion-masks. 一塊嘉靖二十七年（1548）紀年的琉璃天王磚（73 公分），據其銘文所
21 in. (53.5 cm.) high, wood stand, wood cover with soapstone finial 述，是為了位於直隸真定府井陘縣宜安社馬山村福昌寺重修時所燒造。
在建造、重修重要建築物時，多會燒造相應的祭祀禮器。本拍品可能即
PROVENANCE 為該類場合所訂造。
Falk Collection, no. 57
Sold at Christie’s New York, 16 October 2001, lot 150
HK$400,000-600,000 US$52,000-78,000
This magnificent censer belongs to a tradition of vigorously modelled,
brilliantly glazed, large tripod censers dating back at least to the Yuan
period. In 1964 a 14th century tripod censer (37 cm. high) with a dragon
on one side and a phoenix on the other was excavated from the site of
the Desheng Gate of the Yuan dynasty capital Dadu, modern Beijing,
see Christie’s Education, Treasures from Ancient Beijing, New York,
2000, p. 16, no. 5. The Metropolitan Museum of Art has in its collection
a tripod censer (43.5 cm. high) with a dragon and phoenix in high relief,
illustrated in Oriental Ceramics, The World’s Great Collections, vol. 11,
Tokyo, 1982, no. 20, which is dated by inscription to the 7th year of
Zhengde, equivalent to AD 1512.
The present censer is even larger, 52.4 cm. high, and is dated by
inscription to the 40th (renzi) year of Wanli, equivalent to AD 1612,
and may be seen as the culmination of this tradition, which appears
to begin sometime in the Yuan dynasty as a by-product of the tile-
making industry. There was a flourishing industry making glazed
architectural tiles in bright colours in southern Shanxi. Some of these
tiles were for important buildings, made when the structure was under
construction, when it was dedicated or when it was refurbished. In
these instances an inscription was often applied to one of the tiles to
commemorate the occasion. A large tile decorated in high relief in the
collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, is of this type
and bears an inscription dated to the 27th year of Jiajing (equivalent
to AD 1548) and states that the tile was part of the restoration to a
temple in Zhili province; see R. Scott and R. Kerr, Ceramic Evolution in
the Middle Ming Period, Percival David Foundation, 1994, p. 26, no. 37.
In many instances, when the temples or other important buildings were
constructed or refurbished, impressive new ritual vessels were also
commissioned and inscribed with the appropriate date. It is probable
that the present censer, with its large size, splendidly modelled high
relief dragons and dated inscription, was made for such an occasion.

fig. 1 Collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
圖一 紐約大都會博物館藏品
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