Page 136 - Christie's Hong Kong May 31, 2017 Important Chinese Ceramics and Art

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A RARE SANCAI-GLAZED PHOENIX-HEAD EWER 唐 三彩鳳首壺

TANG DYNASTY (618-907) 來源
1987年4月6日購於香港
The pear-shaped body is moulded on one side with an equestrian
archer turned backwards on his galloping horse as he takes aim 此壺一面印狩獵圖案，另一面印鳳凰展翅圖，充分展現唐代藝術品中西
with his bow, and on the reverse with a triumphant phoenix, both 融匯的韻味及意趣，應是受到中亞波斯地區的金屬器啟發。其中一件原
surrounded by ornate flowers issuing from the oval surround, the 型器或為定年五世紀的波斯薩珊王朝鎏金銀壺，雖然欠缺鳳首，但壺
neck surmounted by a phoenix head grasping a pearl in the beak 形與本拍品大至相若，上飾人物圖，出土於北周將軍李賢墓中，曾於
below the oval opening in the top of the head, the C-form handle 1991年展出於新加坡The Empress Place Museum的展覽《The Silk Road:
with foliate terminals, covered overall with a mix of amber, green Treasures of Tang China》，圖錄24頁。另一件可資參考的例子，為定年
and cream glaze, leaving the foot unglazed revealing the pinkish- 隋至唐初的青釉鳳首龍柄壺，上飾各類浮雕紋飾，富西域味道，或與本
white body. 器有一脈相承的關係，現藏北京故宮博物院，見1976年東京出版《世界
13 in. (33 cm.) high, box 陶磁全集》，卷11，隋唐，圖版6號。

HK$500,000-700,000 US$65,000-90,000 同類的三彩鳳首壺可見於世界各大重要博物館，包括一件藏大英博物
館，著錄於Jessica Rawson，《The British Museum Book of Chinese Art》，
PROVENANCE 倫敦，1992年，圖199號；另一件壺身一面飾鳳紋，另一面飾崑崙奴騎
獅，著錄於《世界陶磁全集》，同上，圖版40-41號；再一件藏東京國
Acquired in Hong Kong, 6 April 1987 立博物館，著錄於Margaret Medley，《T’ang Pottery & Porcelain》，倫
敦，1981年，圖版19號。
The exotic design exhibited on this ewer, such as the hunting scene
and rich foliage on the body, was inspired by Sassanian metal flasks 此器經中科研發有限公司熱釋光測年法檢測（測試編號3407TL02；2006
which came into China through merchants and diplomats from 年11月9日），證實與本圖錄之定年符合。
Central Asia. One possible prototype is a fifth-century Sassanian gilt-
silver flask of similar shape but without a phoenix head, decorated
with figural motifs, unearthed from the tomb of Li Xian in Ningxia,
exhibited in The Silk Road: Treasures of Tang China, The Empress Place
Museum, Singapore, 1991, catalogue, p. 24. An earlier Chinese example
which might have inspired the design of the current ewer is a celadon
phoenix-head ewer with rich relief designs and a dragon handle, dating
to the Sui to early Tang dynasty, now in the Beijing Palace Museum
Collection, illustrated in Sekai Toji Zenshu, vol. 11, Sui Tang, Tokyo, 1976,
pl. 6.

A number of similar ewers can be found in important museums and
institutions worldwide, including one in the British Museum Collection,
illustrated by Jessica Rawson, The British Museum Book of Chinese Art,
London, 1992, fig. 199; another one, which is similarly decorated on one
side with a triumphant phoenix, but on the other side with a foreigner
riding on a lion, illustrated in Sekai Toji Zenshu, op. cit., pls. 40-41; and
one in the Tokyo National Museum Collection, illustrated by Margaret
Medley, T’ang Pottery & Porcelain, London, 1981, pl. 19.

The result of C-Link Research & Development Limited
thermoluminescence test no. 3407TL02 (9 November 2006) is
consistent with the dating of this lot.

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