Page 113 - Christie's Hong Kong Important Chinese Works Of Art May 30 2022

fig. 1 Collection of the Musée Guimet fig. 2 Collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing
© RMN-Grand Palais (MNAAG, Paris) / Thierry Ollivier 圖二 北京故宮博物院藏品
圖一 吉美博物館藏品
on a Qianlong meiping vase in the same collection (illustrated ibid., and placement of the individual decorative elements allows them to
p. 131, no. 117). It is noteworthy that on the current hexagonal vase the complement the form of the vase – especially the elements placed on
so-called ‘heaping and piling’ of the cobalt blue, associated with early the corners of the facets. The hexagonal shape, which extends to both
Ming dynasty porcelains, has been imitated with special subtlety and the mouth rim and the foot rim of the vase, would have provided a
delicacy – unlike the rather mannered ‘spotting’ which can be seen on challenge for the potter. Any faceted form runs the risk of splitting
the majority of 18th century blue and white decorated in Ming style. along the sharp vertical junctions during firing, and with a vase of this
large size that risk is increased. The potters would have had to ensure
The cobalt blue used to decorate the current vase is of very high that the all the sides were of absolutely even thickness and outline if
quality and its jewel-like colour creates an effective contrast with they were to avoid splitting and warping in the kiln. It was a mark of
the purity of the finely-textured white porcelain. This has been the skill of the potters at the imperial kilns that faceted forms became
used to good advantage by the decorator, who has left a generous more numerous in the 18th century, amongst both blue and white and
amount of white space around the highly detailed decorative motifs, monochrome porcelains.
ensuring them even greater visual prominence. The careful shaping

本拍品所採用的西洋纏枝紋（外沿多以小巧珠狀作結）構圖對稱、層次分明，近似者亦見於一批雍正和乾隆初年的青花
佳瓷，惟其數量不多。北京故宮博物院藏二例雍正水注，其紋飾中也有近似的元素，圖見《故宮博物院藏清代御窯
瓷器》卷一（下）頁108-111編號43（圖二）及44。但兩者的體形均不及本拍品，而且均屬圓器，不具棱面，所以各紋飾
元素相對較小，鋪陳格局不盡相同，但其參考的藍本顯然系出同源。有意思的是，北京故宮尚有一例雍正青花大壺，
其器肩也有類似的紋飾，圖見《故宮博物院藏文物珍品全集：青花釉裏紅（下）》頁114編號100(香港：2000)；此外，
南京博物院藏二例雍正青花大尊亦紋飾相若，圖見《清瓷萃珍：清代康雍乾官窯瓷器》編號43及44(南京：1995)。在北京
故宮芸芸藏品之中，一例乾隆青花蒜頭大瓶亦糅合了類似的西洋紋飾，圖見前述《故宮博物院藏文物珍品全集：青花釉
裏紅（下）》頁135編號121；以本拍品的仿明折枝花果紋與如意雲頭紋而言，近似例為一例乾隆梅瓶，圖見同一著作
頁131編號117。尤須一提的是，明初瓷器以青料「深厚堆垛」見稱，而本六方尊仿燒的效果格外精湛細膩，迥異於十八
世紀仿明青花瓷多以重筆點染來模仿結晶斑點之手法。

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