Page 23 - Ming Porcelain Sothebys march 2018

his yuhuchunping, with its full blooms loosely carved among lushly
͉ۜ͗డ݆ଧdཊሯ๝ᆗν͗dኜۨᎴඩ૶අd rendered foliage, its jade-like glaze and its well-proportioned, elegant
ˢԷʴ၈Ӹߕdኜ໖ྌՍӫʗ७d،໢ᇼᝨᐿ T shape, exempli! es the Longquan potter’s skill and creativity.
߱dᅰϢସ׳ӫʗᓃၢՉගd዆᜗ҖՓࡒᚥҦ
ᖵၾ௴อd༐މᎲݰ㜺ʘԳЪf Longquan and Jingdezhen sourced from the same type of ‘pattern
books’, assembled during the Hongwu Emperor’s reign (1364-1398) when
ݳ؛ϋගႡନᅺ๟˚ᒈ஝ᇍdʱй׵Ꮂݰe౻ manufacture standards were regularized at both imperial kilns. Yet, some
ᅃᕄண֜㜺dԱᅵደிd݂ՇήהႡኜي७ᅵ complicated designs may have been primarily designed for Jingdezhen, as
̙ፗΝ࣬Ν๕fᒱνϤd౻ᅃᕄႡନ˸ᖭུމ
˴d׸Ⴁልᕏ७ᅵdᎲݰΘʈ˸ՍՈ˾അdۆ they were more suitable for the painting brush than for the carver’s tool. The
ᗭܓһɽfνႡ७ུᐿ੗ʘኜdฏცΘɛ̌ɢ Longquan carver copied the designs to the best of his ability, showing hereby
ᄫᆞdዹՈᅆːd˙ϓԳኜf͉ԷکνϤdΝᗳ his creativity. The present design, known from blue-and-white and underglaze-
७ུ̙Ԉ׵Νࣛಂڡڀʿཊ㛪ߎ͗డ݆ଧdШ red yuhuchun vases of this period, is splendidly executed, in an even more
୚ᝈ͉ۜdଉՍ૵ྌdၚѶഒࡐd׼ฮ̙፫dя naturalistic and free rendering than seen on its Jingdezhen counterparts. Here,
ࣖͭ᜗d७ུࢪجІ್dڀ໢ᜳਗ༻ॆeബ࢝І the artist cleverly used his technique to its utmost advantage by fashioning
νdڌତɢ̙ፗһ௷ɓᘪf
the deeply incised pattern in such a way as to reveal a shading of darker green
Ϥᗳ͗డ݆ଧdࣛᄿա৛ડdΝࣛࠦΣ͉ɺʿ where the glaze pooled, giving the piece a most attractive appeal.
ऎ̮̹ఙdהུ७ᅵ΢ମdٜЇɤʞ˰ߏdʥމ
This type of pear-shaped vase was in demand both for the domestic and
࿫ቖʘۜf̙Ԉɓ޴ڐᎲݰଧԷdމࢗҒደႡd
ତπ̨̏਷݂ͭࢗ௹ي৫d፽׵ᇹٓځᇜd foreign markets, and continued to be popular into the ! fteenth century, with a
၀ၠ{׼˾Ꮂݰ㜺ڡନ‘d̨̏d2009ϋd variety of carved designs. A similar example, ! red for the court, in the National
ᇜ໮52dࣣʕਗ਼ՉၾՇ̈ɺ͗డ݆ଧආБˢ Palace Museum, Taipei, is illustrated in Tsai Mei-fen, ed., Bilü – Mingdai
༰dՉɓ̈ɺ׵ੵථྥdߏݳ؛ɚɤɞϋiՉɚ Longquan yao Qingci/Green – Longquan Celadon of the Ming Dynasty, Taipei,
७ུଫᔊd̈ɺ׵τᏏ̻Ϫ௓ၲྥdߏ͑ᆀɤ 2009, no. 52, where the vase is compared to an excavated piece from the
ɚϋdΝԈԬ஢޴ᗳЪԷdᇜ໮51ʿ53Ї58f
tomb of Zhang Yun, dated to the 28th year of the Hongwu reign (1395) and to
a vase, of simpler design, unearthed from the tomb of Chen Wen of Pingjiang
in Anhui, dated to the 12th year of the Yongle reign (1414), together with similar
examples, no. 51 and nos 53-58.