Page 39 - Sotheby's Fine Chinese Art NYC September 2023

更難得、更能象徵慈禧領導下晚清御窰雄
心的是最後一組、署「儲秀宮」篆書款的瓷
器。這批瓷器別具特色，慈禧於1889年旨
令燒製，儲秀宮是紫禁城內慈禧住過的另
一座宮殿。慈禧旨令御窰製作256件瓷器，
由於尺寸龐大，御窰無法一次完成，只能兩
年內分三批呈交。清光緒黃地紫綠彩雲龍
趕珠紋大盤(編號557)和清光緒藍地綠彩
雲龍趕珠紋大盤(編號569)半徑均達28寸，
是儲秀宮瓷器中最大的盤例。盤底署釉下
青花「儲秀宮製」篆書款。選用篆書款，表
明了慈禧對高古文化的興趣。黃地紫綠彩
龍紋大盤流行於康熙一朝，本品按之燒製，
唯尺寸較大。清光緒素三彩花卉暗龍紋大
盤盤心飾花卉靈石紋飾 (編號607)，亦屬仿
康熙瓷器。
上述黃地大盤飾五爪祥龍，姿態矯健，極
爲出衆。雖然皇太后的瓷器有時亦以此款
圖案作爲裝飾，但它們是內務府造辦處的
物品。儲秀宮則專為慈禧打造的，其中包括
只屬皇帝尊用的龍紋瓷器，以及尺寸龐大、
燒製極難的瓷盤，攝政的慈禧太后毫不猶
豫地批准了這些款式，旨在達成執政君主
的使命：重現清朝十八世紀的輝煌。這些尺
寸龐大的瓷盤是用來承載蘋果，把蘋果砌
成塔形，放置於宮殿中，散發淡淡天然果
香，此外，蘋與平諧音，故此這樣的佈置也
有吉祥寓意。這些大盤為慈禧宮殿的佈置
方式，以及爲了拍攝照片而作的陳設。
綜上所述，Levy 收藏雲集多件難得一見的
晚清瓷器珍品，收藏廣度和深度同樣出衆，
而收藏包括多件大雅齋瓷器，從中可推斷
Barbara Levy熟知這些瓷器與慈禧的關
聯。這個收藏的集成，不但反映藏家的美
學視野，還出自一種女性之間的聯繫，匯
聚了相隔一個世紀的兩位非凡女性的藝術
靈犀。此外，這次拍賣也標誌著收藏界的新
趨勢，展示出19世紀宮廷瓷器在收藏界中開
始扮演更重要的角色，值得廣大藏家關注。
74 SOTHEBY’S COMPLETE CATALOGUING AVAILABLE AT SOTHEBYS.COM/N11275
Even rarer and more symbolic of the ambition and achievement of 536
the late Qing imperial kiln under Cixi’s leadership is the last group, A RARE COPPER-RED AND UNDERGLAZE-BLUE 清咸豐 青花釉裏紅雲龍趕珠紋鋪首耳
the plates inscribed with “Chuxiugong zhi” in seal script. This unique ‘DRAGON’ BOMBE-FORM CENSER
commission was placed in 1889 for the Chuxiugong Palace, another SEAL MARK AND PERIOD OF XIANFENG 簋式爐
palace in the Forbidden City’s inner court area where Cixi dwelled. The the base with a six-character seal mark in underglaze blue 《大清咸豐年製》款
patroness demanded two hundred and fifty-six pieces, but their large Diameter 9½ in., 24.1 cm
sizes posed great challenges to the imperial kiln, forcing it to divide the 來源
commission into three shipments in two years. A large yellow-ground PROVENANCE Georg Weishaupt (1906-2004) 收藏
green- and aubergine-enameled ‘dragon’ charger (lot 557), as well Collection of Georg Weishaupt (1906-2004). 阿姆斯特丹蘇富比1995年10月16日，編號5
Sotheby’s Amsterdam, 16th October 1995, lot 5. 展覽
as another blue-ground green-enameled example (lot 569) both EXHIBITED 《From the Dragon’s Treasure: Chinese Porcelain from the
measure 28 inches in diameter, and belong to the largest plates in the From the Dragon’s Treasure: Chinese Porcelain from 19th and 20th Centuries in the Weishaupt Collection》，
Chuxiugong ware. These plates all bear underglaze-blue “chuxiugong the 19th and 20th Centuries in the Weishaupt Collection, 應用藝術博物館，法蘭克福及装饰艺术博物馆，柏
zhi” inscriptions in seal script on the bottom. The choice of this archaic Museum für Kunsthandwerk, Frankfurt and Museum für 林，1987年，編號110
script points to Cixi’s interest in the cultural paradigm. Indeed, the Kunsthandwerk, Berlin, 1987, cat. no. 110.
yellow-ground example is an enlarged reproduction of a popular design $ 6,000-8,000
during the Kangxi period. The large famille-verte plate decorated with
the flower and rock motif in the center (lot 607) is also copied from the
porcelains of the Kangxi period.
Even more striking is the robust five-clawed dragons on the yellow-
ground charger. While utensils for empress dowagers sometimes bear
this motif, they were objects provided by the Department of Imperial
Household. On the contrary, the Chuxiugong ware was exclusively made
for Cixi. The empress dowager regent had no hesitation in approving
its designs that included the dragon motif reserved for the emperor,
and the large plates, one of the most difficult shapes to beautifully fire
in the kiln, aimed at reclaiming the Qing regime’s eighteenth-century
glory, a mission for the ruling monarch. These large plates were vessels
for towers of apples that provided a natural aroma to Cixi’s space and
also functioned as the visual pun for peace, ping in Chinese, which is
homophonous with the character of apple. These large plates were
installed in Cixi’s palace and for her photo shooting sessions
In conclusion, the Levy Collection is a rare private collection of late Qing
porcelains in breadth and depth. The large number of colorful Dayazhai
porcelains suggests the late Barbara Levy’s awareness of these
porcelains’ connection with Cixi. They were assembled not only for their
aesthetic value but also for the rare womanly bond between the two
women who lived a century apart. Their auction also demarcates a new
tendency in the world of collecting, in which nineteenth-century imperial
porcelains have an important role to play.
THE LEGACY OF CIXI. LATE QING PORCELAIN FROM THE BARBARA JEAN LEVY COLLECTION 75