Page 134 - Christie's July 9th 2020 Hong Kong Important Chinese Works of Art

THE PROPERTY OF A LADY
2875
A RARE GOLD FIGURE OF A QILIN 元 金麒麟

YUAN DYNASTY (1279-1368)
來源
The double horned qilin is hammered standing four-square with 英國私人收藏，於1980年代購於香港
a hollowed body. Its head is chased with bulging eyes, furry
eyebrows and open jaws revealing its set of fangs and tongue. The 中國對瑞獸麒麟有多個傳說，其形象為獅頭、虎眼、鹿身、龍麟，主太
body is defined with scales, serrated mane and upright bushy tail. 平、長壽、有仁人。元代十四世紀，麒麟面向前方飛躍的形象成為許多
2 √ in. (7.3 cm.) high, box 瓷器的裝飾圖案，常將其飾於青花盤內正中。是件麒麟整體姿態與元代
十四世紀中期的麒麟圖象有異曲同工之妙。可參考兩件元代青花麒麟
HK$120,000-180,000 US$16,000-23,000 盤，一件載於三杉隆敏之《中近東之中國瓷器》，香港，1981 年，第 2
PROVENANCE 冊，頁 90；另一件則載於埃斯肯納齊，《A Dealer’s Hand: The Chinese
An English private collection, acquired in Hong Kong in the Art World through the Eyes of Giuseppe Eskenazi》，倫敦，2012 年，頁
1980s 295，圖版 300 號。
There are numerous references in traditional Chinese mythology and
symbolism to the qilin, an auspicious animal with a lion’s head, tiger’s
eyes, deer’s body, dragon’s scales, horse’s hooves and the tail of an ox,
symbolising longevity, fertility and flourishing age during the reign of a
benevolent ruler. In the Yuan dynasty, particularly in the mid-fourteenth
century, the image of the qilin became one of the most popular motifs
depicted on porcelains, and is usually rendered with a galloping pose
with the head facing forward in the centre of a dish.
Compare with two Yuan blue and white dishes with the motif of
a galloping qilin. One is published in T. Misugi, Chinese Porcelain
Collections in the Near East-Topkapi and Ardebil and Tokapi, Hong
Kong, 1981, vol. II, p. 90, and the other is illustrated in Hajni Elias and
Giuseppe Eskenazi, A Dealer’s Hand: The Chinese Art World through the
Eyes of Giuseppe Eskenazi, London, 2012, p. 295, pl. 300.

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