Page 82 - Christie's Hong Kong Important Chinese Works Of Art May 30 2022

THE PROPERTY OF A GENTLEMAN
士紳珍藏
2858

A VERY RARE BLUE AND WHITE ‘KORANIC-
VERSE’ QUATREFOIL BOX AND COVER

ZHENGDE SIX-CHARACTER MARK IN UNDERGLAZE BLUE WITHIN
A DOUBLE CIRCLE AND OF THE PERIOD (1506-1521)
The cover is painted to the top with a square cartouche enclosing a
rhombus inscribed inside with an Arabic or Persian script denoting
one of the 99 names of Allah, encircled by four detached ruyi-scrolls;
the sides with a band of separate ruyi clouds. The box is decorated to
the sides with a row of bosses, above the stepped base decorated with
a ruyi-scroll.
4º in. (10.8 cm.) diam., box
HK$1,800,000-2,500,000 US$240,000-320,000 fig. 1 Collection of the National Museum of China

圖一 中國博物館藏品
P R O V E NAN C E :
A Japanese private collection
The Ronald W. Longsdorf Collection
Sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 30 November 2016, lot 3393

明正德 青花回回文海棠式蓋盒 雙圈六字楷書款

來源:
日本私人舊藏
Ronald W. Longsdorf 舊藏
香港佳士得，2016年11月30日，拍品3393號

Boxes of this type are very rare, with only a few known in international 此青花回回文盒為正德官窯之重要瓷器，中國國家博物館亦藏有一件形制
collections. Indeed, only one other box of this lobed form appears to 極為類似之作品，著錄於2007 年上海出版《中國國家博物館館藏文物研究
be known. A box of the same shape, and with identical treatment of the 叢書》，瓷器卷明代，上海，2007年，圖版64號（圖一）。瓷器上所飾回回文，
sides of the lid and base, as well as the top of the lid, is in the collection of 內容多與宗教哲學有關，大部份更擷自《古蘭經》。正如英國大維德基金會
the National Museum of China (illustrated in Studies of the Collections of the 所藏之明正德青花插屏，其上款識即引自《古蘭經》第七十二章之〈精靈〉。
National Museum of China, Ming Porcelain, Shanghai, 2007, pl. 64) (fig. 1).
The majority of the inscriptions in Arabic are religious or philosophical in 至於此盒上所識則是阿拉九十九個尊名的其中之一。此外，還有某些較世俗
content and many of these are quotations from the Qur’an, like that on the 性的回回文款，如「筆架」之類用以說明瓷器用途，又或像是「追求書法上的
table screen in the collection of Sir Percival David, the inscription on which 完美，因為這是存在的關鍵之一」等一類的聖訓格言。此類回回文款多以阿
comes from Surat al Jinn (LXXII) (illustrated by R. Scott in Elegant Form and 拉伯文或波斯文書寫，但絕大部份則屬後者。正如所有的正德瓷器般，此盒
Harmonious Decoration – Four Dynasties of Jingdezhen Porcelain, London, 帶有雙圈六字楷款。然而有部份繪五爪龍及纏枝蓮花圖案的正德青花則帶
1992, p. 70, no. 68). The inscription on the current box gives one of the 四字款，同時亦鮮有資料解釋何以四字款青花較六字款青花的顏色更為
99 names of Allah. A number of other inscriptions are secular and either 晦暗。具江西省《瑞州府志》所載：「上高縣天則崗有無名子，景德鎮用以繪
indicate use, such as ‘pen rest’, or are mottoes, such as ‘Strive for excellence 畫瓷器。」〈見R. Scott and R. Kerr，《Ceramic Evolution in the Middle Ming
in penmanship, for it is one of the keys of livelihood.’ The secular inscriptions Period》，倫敦，1994 年，7頁。〉如此看來，這類國產的鈷藍料是四字款龍紋
may be in either Arabic or Persian, but are mostly composed in the latter.
及蓮花紋所採用。反之，如此盒般圖案較清晰鮮明的青花，則很有可能使
用進口鈷料。萬曆十九年，黃一正於《事物紺珠》曾載：「回青者，出外國。
The fact that this Zhengde box is lobed adds to its rarity, and the quality 正德間，大擋鎮雲南，得之，以煉石為偽寶。其價，初倍黃金，已知其可燒
of the porcelain, the cobalt blue and the painting all suggest that it may 窯器。用之果佳。」〈同上〉似乎這類寫有回回文款的瓷器，多為朝廷那些
have been made specifically for one of the powerful Muslim court eunuchs, 位高權重的穆斯林宦官所造，並確保這類瓷器是用了進口鈷料。
although the emperor himself was also drawn towards foreign scripts and
an eastern Turkish merchant who visited China in the early 16th century 事實上，正德瓣式盒的造型極為罕見，其上的鈷料及畫工均反映其為朝廷某
suggested that the emperor may have converted to Islam. This, however, 位權宦所製。即便是十六世紀早期一位前往中國經商的土耳其人暗示過正
is not confirmed by any Chinese sources. 德皇帝可能信奉伊斯蘭教，且對回回文頗有興趣，故推斷這類瓷器或有可能
也為其所製，然而至今並無確切的中國文獻資料證實以上此點。

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