Page 94 - Christie's Hong Kong Important Chinese Works Of Art May 30 2022

(see Peter Y.K. Lam, ‘Towards a Dating Framework for Qianlong
Imperial Porcelain’, Transactions of the Oriental Ceramic Society, vol. 74,
2009-2010, p. 24). Lam estimates that this style of underglaze blue
six-character seal script reign mark was applied to imperial porcelains
between approximately 1750 and 1790, which would accord with the
date of 1771 for the vase. .

It is very rare to find a vase of this massive size with doucai decoration.
As a decorative technique doucai was both difficult and expensive.
After throwing and drying the vessel, fine underglaze cobalt blue
outlines were painted onto the porous unfired body. As the cobalt
immediately soaked into the unfired clay, no mistakes could be rectified.
The vessel was then given a transparent porcelain glaze and fired. After
the fired piece had cooled, overglaze enamel colours were carefully
applied within the underglaze blue outlines and the piece was fired
again at a lower temperature. As each firing would have produced some
failures, and large vessels tended to be more susceptible to warping and
splitting, it would have been an expensive undertaking to create large
doucai vessels which met the high imperial standards. The current vase
also includes gilded decoration.

It is telling that the Palace Museum in Beijing appears to have published
only one Qianlong doucai vase (decorated with tribute bearers) which
is taller than the current vase at 71.5 cm. (illustrated in Porcelains in
Polychrome and Contrasting Colours, The Complete Collection of Treasures
of the Palace Museum, vol. 38, Hong Kong, 1999, p. 274, no. 251). Even
the famous Qianlong doucai dragon moon flask in the Palace Museum
(illustrated by E. S. Rawski and J. Rawson (eds.) in China – The Three
fig. 2 Collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing Emperors 1662-1795, London, 2005, pp. 294-5, no. 217) is, at 49.5 cm.
圖二 北京故宮博物院藏品 high, smaller than the current vase, while the unusually large Qianlong

更引人入勝的是，清宮檔案《貢檔進單》中記載，乾隆三十六年（1771）十一月三日，伊齡阿跪進（交養心殿內）「成窯
五彩螭耳天球尊成對」。乾隆時期鬥彩器往往被稱為「成窯五彩」，因為成化鬥彩技藝一直為後世追崇。養心殿於乾隆
時期為紫禁城核心宮殿，是帝王處理政務的重要處所。伊齡阿於乾隆三十三至三十七年（1768-1772）擔任九江關監督，
管理景德鎮窯務。林業強教授曾勠力鉤沉乾隆年號款的樣式，而本拍品的年款風格與其描述的「第六類」殊為契合，
詳見其著作<Towards a Dating Framework for Qianlong Imperial Porcelain>，載於《東方陶瓷學會會刊》2009-2010年
刊號74頁24。據林教授分析，此類釉下青花六字篆書年款通用於1750至1790年前後的御瓷，正與上述清宮檔案中有關
乾隆三十六年（1771）之記錄吻合。

傳世鬥彩瓶中，器型敦碩如本拍品者屈指可數。作為一種裝飾技巧，鬥彩難度大、成本高，其做法是在拉坯成形且乾透
的素胎之上，於未經窯燒且透氣滲水的器表用釉下鈷藍勾繪出圖紋輪廓。由於未經窯燒的胎土會迅速吸收青料，因此
畫師渾無出錯空間。接下來，再將器身掛施透明釉並進行窯燒。瓷胎出窯冷卻後，方於青花線內精心填施諸色釉上琺瑯
彩，並以較低溫度二次燒成。每回窯燒總有殘次之作，加上大型器物較易變形破損，若要燒造出能符合御瓷嚴格要求的
鬥彩大器，成本定然不菲。而且，本拍品更結合了鎏金紋飾。

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