Page 164 - Sotheby's Fine Chinese Art NYC September 2023

utstanding for its imposing size, harmoniously rounded form and 此抱月瓶成器魁碩，流線圓柔，紋飾富
meticulously detailed painting, the present moonflask is a grand statement 麗，盡顯乾隆盛世輝煌。大清帝國由關外
民族入主中土建立，為證正統，歷代帝王
Oof the Qianlong Emperor’s imperial splendor. The Qing emperors’ quest to
崇尚古器，以宮廷御珍揚天子恩威。清帝
justify their right to rule China as a foreign dynasty inspired their deep reverence 研習皇家收藏，勤勉不怠，亦對器藝多有
for antiquity and eagerness to manifest their power and benevolence through 扶助，重開鑑古創今之格局。景德鎮御窰
imperial works of art. In their diligent study of the imperial art collection and 廠遵奉聖命，依古器創新品，造詣驕人，
宣示滿清繼往古之成果、開來世之大業。
renewed patronage of the arts, they heralded a resurgence of creativity that was
inspired by works of China’s past. Accordingly, craftsmen working at the imperial 此器形、紋參考十五世紀初明代雛本，
kilns in Jingdezhen were commissioned to refer to these great works of the past 設雙耳、橢圓身，可溯源至唐代粟特商人
携入中國之鉛釉陶扁壶。明代景德鎮御窰
while simultaneously creating innovative and contemporary pieces that boasted the
匠保留扁壺形制，添注匠心巧思，
excellent workmanship of the era, signaling a legitimate, continuous yet superior era 成器煥然一新，柔肩鼓腹，微顯橢圓，
of rulership. 與修長瓶頸及捲曲雙耳相映成趣。十五世
紀後，此形制式微，直至清代方得復興，
Indeed, the form and decoration of the present moonflask references its early 或因此形制尤似古青銅扁壺，適逢清代帝
15th century Ming predecessors of double handles and oval section, who in turn, 王慕古，乃獲青睞。
derived their form from lead-glazed pottery pilgrim flasks brought into China by 據《清宮內務府造辦處檔案》及《江西燒
Sogdian merchants during the Tang dynasty. By the time the Ming imperial potters 造瓷器處》，乾隆三年（即1738年）曾選
at Jingdezhen adapted this shape, it retained only a basic relationship to the original 多件宣德御製青花抱月瓶以作仿燒、重繪
紋飾（見張榮編，《養心殿造辦處史料
form. They rejuvenated the vessel, creating a sophisticated, faintly elliptical, circular
輯覽・卷2：乾隆朝》，北京，2012年，
outline with swelling sides, all counterbalanced by a slender cylindrical neck and 頁65-68）。據載，乾隆所藏十五世紀青
fanciful curled handles. Following a lull in production after the 15th century, Qing 花瓷器數量頗豐，
potters again revived the form, perhaps also due to its resemblance to the archaic 其中一件隨乾隆入畫《弘曆是一是二圖》
bronze bianhu, which would have appealed to the emperors’ passion for archaism. ，飾纏枝花卉，頸帶雙耳，與多件骨董一
同置於畫中右側桌上，圖軸藏北京故宮博
According to Qinggong neiwufu zaobanchu dang’an, Jiangxi shaozao ciqi chu 物院，錄《海國波瀾：淸代宮廷西洋傳敎
[Archival records from the Qing imperial household department workshop, ceramics 士畫師繪畫流派精品》，澳門藝術博物
館，澳門，2001年，圖版41。另比一宣德
production in Jiangxi], in the third year of the Qianlong period (corresponding to
纏枝蓮紋抱月瓶，與本件尺寸相當，斂
1738), a number of large imperial Xuande blue and white moonflasks was ordered 足、無耳，清宮舊藏，仍貯北京故宮，錄
to be copied and reproduced for decoration (see Zhang Rong (comp.), Yangxindian 《故宮博物院藏文物珍品全集・青花釉裏
Zaobanchu shiliao jilan [Reader of historical material on the Workshops in the Hall of 紅 （上）》，香港，2008年，頁104。
Mental Cultivation], vol. 2: Qianlong chao [Qianlong period], Beijing, 2012, pp 65-68). 清朝窰匠以鈷料點飾，仿傚前朝青花鐵鏽
It is recorded that the Qianlong Emperor had a considerable number of 15th century 斑，該特色亦見本瓶。採上乘鈷料，繪
blue and white porcelains in his collection and indeed, one of floral decoration with 纏枝花卉，佈局勻稱，紋飾繁密而不覺
擁擠，可見窰匠深諳構圖之道。瓶上花繁
double scroll handles can be spotted on a table amongst other antiques to the right of
葉茂，纏枝蜿蜒，與器身圓潤輪廓交相輝
the Emperor in the portrait, Hongli Appraising, in the collection of the Palace Museum, 映，又與夔龍耳及繞肩如意紋形成對照，
Beijing, illustrated in The Golden Exile: Pictorial Expressions of the School of Western 線條輕靈流麗，形態渾樸厚重，二者相
Missionaries’ Artworks of the Qing dynasty Court, Macau Museum of Art, Macau, 2001, 融，恰如乾隆治國寬嚴並濟，皇恩既浩
蕩，天威不可違。
pl. 41. For a Xuande lotus scroll moonflask of this size, similarly standing on a tapered
foot but without handles, see one in the Qing Court Collection and still in Beijing, 如此碩麗之器，應為乾隆心愛之物，乃屬
illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Blue and 乾隆朝最具挑戰、最見功力之作。欲成器
紋飾華美、碩形端正，非窰匠技藝精湛不
White Porcelain with Underglazed Red (I), Hong Kong, 2008, p. 104.
可為，乾隆品味高卓，且慨然扶持瓷業，
The reference to these early wares is further highlighted on the present piece 亦功不可沒。
in the deliberate ‘heaping and piling’ of the cobalt to imitate their predecessor’s
mottled effect. Meticulously executed in the finest cobalt blue, the composition of
floral blooms and foliate scrolls is perfectly balanced showcasing the craftsman’s
thorough understanding of the importance of spacing in successfully creating a
rich yet not overly crowded design. The blooming florets and lush, meandering
scrolls ingeniously echo the perfectly rounded silhouette of the vase and is offset
by the bold handles and horizontal bands, instilling an overall harmonized balance
between the curvilinear and the geometric, serving as the perfect political analogy
to Qianlong’s imperial rule, benevolent yet absolute, generous yet exacting.

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