Page 62 - Christie's Hong Kong Important Chinese Works Of Art May 30 2022

TREASURED JAR FOR THE MOST PRECIOUS

TEA – A RARE EARLY MING LONGQUAN JAR

(AN EXCERPT)
ROSEMARY SCOTT, INDEPENDENT SCHOLAR,

VISITING CERAMICS RESEARCH FELLOW, PALACE MUSEUM, BEIJING

It may well be the case that this jar arrived in The Matsudaira (Hisamatsu) family were keen
Japan soon after its manufacture in the Chinese practitioners of the tea ceremony, and even today,
province of Zhejiang in the early Ming dynasty, the region of Iyo Matsuyama, over which the
since such pieces were greatly prized in Japan and family ruled, is still known for the numbers
many fine Longquan celadons were imported for who take part in the tea ceremony. The current
appreciative Japanese patrons. Important vessels jar can be seen against this background of
were preserved with care and handed down to tea connoisseurship and the appreciation of
succeeding generations, either within families special objects for use in the tea ceremony
or within temples. The current Longquan jar by the Hisamatsu family. This Longquan
would have been particularly treasured not celadon jar was reserved for the first fine tea of
only for its rare form, but most especially for the the year. The tea leaves were picked in spring
exquisite colour of its glaze – an aspect of fine and were matured in the jar during the summer.
Longquan celadon wares, which has traditionally The mouth of the jar would have been tightly
been revered by Japanese connoisseurs. sealed using a wooden plug covered with several
layers of paper, which would have been tied
The current jar was gifted to a Japanese private collector in place. The short neck and flanged mouth of the
in 1955 by the important Hisamatsu family, who as current jar would have made it particularly suitable
daimyo or hanshu in the Edo period (AD 1603–1868) for this. One of the surviving records, see below,
were feudal rulers of Iyo Matsuyama-han – present day suggests that such jars may have been suspended under
Ehime prefecture in Shikoku Island. This significant role was lot 2849 the floor in a net bag – possibly to keep them cool during the
held by 15 generations over a period of some 235 years. 拍品2849號 heat of summer. The first tea ceremony of the year, known as

元 龍泉青釉刻開光花卉紋茶葉罐 (摘錄）

蘇玫瑰 獨立學者暨故宮研究陶瓷研究所客座研究員

龍泉青瓷自古譽滿中外，慕名者遍及日本，不少頂尖龍泉名器均外銷當地，供有識之士鑑藏賞玩。本器大概亦不作例外，
在浙江省龍泉窯一經燒造，隨即運抵日本，流傳至今。名品佳器經家族世代相傳，或由寺廟長存久貯，才免於散失，
過程彌足珍貴。本龍泉青釉茶葉罐，形制獨特，釉色瑩潤，清麗悅目。龍泉青釉典雅絕塵，一直備受日本鑑藏界推崇。

此罐原為日本久松家族珍藏，及至1955年轉贈至一位日本藏家。久松氏為江戶時期（公元1603至1868年）伊予松山藩「大
名」。伊予松山，即現今四國愛媛縣松山地區；藩，作屬地；「大名」，為日本幕府時代廣袤藩地首領之專稱，亦即藩主。
久松家族持位藩主15世代，歷時235年，與江戶名將－德川幕府（1600至1868年）始創人德川家康（1543至1616年）關係
深遠。松平（久松）家族熱衷茶道，時至今日，家族藩地松山一帶依然保留豐富的茶道文化。此罐作為茶具一員，象徵
博大精深的茶道文化，同時透過茶會品鑑藝術一環，揭示主人久松家族之優雅品味。茶葉罐，顧名思義，乃盛放茶葉的
器皿。春天採茶入罐，待夏季完熟，此謂新茶，即本器所盛之茶葉品種。罐口以木蓋密封，覆紙多層，再用繩索纏束。
本罐短頸，撇口，最宜裝封。據下段引文所述，此類茶葉罐甚或以網結包覆貯於地下，避免夏季高温令茶葉變壞。
日文「口切之茶事」，意謂年度首場茶會，在十一月上旬進行。茶會舉行前夕，茶庭、茶室之大小角落皆會燦然一新，固有竹籬、

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