Page 15 - Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art Christie's Hong Kong May 29, 2019

those on the current jar. Particularly charming examples of boys at play can 及至宋代，陶瓷的嬰孩紋飾大致可分為兩類：
be seen on the upper surface of Northern Song pillows made at the Cizhou 一類是在器身刻印或模印紋飾，另一類則是用
kilns, such as the little boy fishing on a bean-shaped Cizhou pillow, and a boy 筆在器表作畫。可想而知，泥胎之上刻印的紋
playing football on an octagonal Cizhou pillow – both in the collection of the 飾偏於靜態，動態描寫少之又少。相形之下，
Hebei Provincial Museum (illustrated in Zhongguo wenwu jinghua daquan – Taoci 泥胎作畫的例子大多栩栩如生、意趣盎然，本
juan, Taibei, 1993, p. 302, nos. 443 and 444, respectively). 拍品便是最佳例證。最生動傳神的嬰戲之作，
見於北宋磁州窯瓷枕的枕面，就此可參考河北
The Southern Song dynasty saw a period when paintings on silk depicting 省博物館藏磁州窯嬰戲豆形枕和磁州窯童子蹴
children at play found favour. One artist famous for his paintings of children 鞠八角枕，圖見《中國文物精華大全：陶瓷卷》
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was Su Hanchen ( 蘇漢臣 fl. mid-12 century), who, under the Emperor 頁 302 編號 443 及 444（台北：1993）。
Huizong (r. AD 1100-1126) of the Northern Song, was Painter-in-attendance
at the imperial academy and, after the Song court was forced to flee south to 南宋時期，絹本嬰戲畫大行其道。蘇漢臣（活
Hangzhou, resumed his position at the Southern Song academy. Those of his 躍於十二世紀中期）便以擅繪嬰戲而名滿天下，
paintings which have survived into the present day include Children Playing 他在宋徽宗（公元 1100 至 1126 年在位）時期
in an Autumn Garden and Winter Play, both preserved in the National Palace 曾任畫院待詔，宋室南渡偏安杭州之後，他仍
Museum, Taipei (illustrated in A. Barratt Wicks (ed.), Children in Chinese Art, 於南宋畫院供職。他的傳世之作有一幅《秋庭
Honolulu, 2002, pls. 6 and 7, respectively), and Children Playing with a Balance 嬰戲圖》和《冬日嬰戲圖》，兩者均為台北國
Toy in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (illustrated in Tales 立故宮博物院藏，圖見 A. Barratt Wicks 所編的
from the Land of Dragons – 1,000 Years of Chinese Painting, Boston, 1997, p. 154, 《Children in Chinese Art》圖版 6 及 7（檀香
no. 26). Paintings of this type continued to inspire designs on the decorative 山：2002），以及波士頓美術館藏《嬰戲圖》，
arts thereafter. It is probably no coincidence that in his paintings Su Hanchen
tended to depict the children within garden settings, which emphasised the 圖見《Tales from the Land of Dragons – 1,000
domestic nature of the scenes. It is probably also no coincidence that when Years of Chinese Painting》頁 154 編號 26（波士
頓：1997）。同類題材的繪畫，為其後的裝飾
children came to be painted on Jingdezhen porcelain in the Ming period, these
scenes were almost invariably set in luxurious gardens – as is the case on the 藝術提供了源源不絕的靈感。蘇氏畫作以庭園
current jar. 嬰戲居多，富於日常生活的氣息，這很可能是
畫家刻意為之。同樣道理，明代景德鎮瓷器的
The coherent theme of boys at play seems first to have been applied to fine 嬰戲題材，幾乎清一色以風光秀麗的庭園為背
porcelains decorated in underglaze cobalt blue in the Ming dynasty, early 景，本拍品便是一例。
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15 century. A blue and white bowl decorated with boys playing in a garden
dated to the Yongle reign (AD 1403-24) is illustrated in Chinese Porcelain – 繁而不亂的嬰戲題材，似乎肇始於十五世紀初
The S.C. Ko Tianminlou Collection, Hong Kong, 1987, no. 15. A similar bowl 明代釉下青花佳瓷，就此可證諸《天民樓藏瓷》
with a Xuande mark and of the period (AD 1426-35) from the collection of 編號 15 所示的永樂朝（公元 1403 至 1424 年）
the National Palace Museum, Taipei, is illustrated in Catalogue of the Special 青花庭園嬰戲紋盌（香港：1987）。台北國立
Exhibition of Selected Hsüan-te Imperial Porcelains of the Ming Dynasty, National 故宮博物院藏一例具年號款的近似宣德（公元
Palace Museum, Taipei, 1998, no. 152. In the latter case, while the boys are 1426 至 1435 年）青花盌，圖見《明代宣德官窯
within a balustraded garden, mountains can be seen in the distance beyond the 菁華特展圖錄》 編號 152（台北：國立故宮博
fence. This emphasis on distant landscape elements outside the garden seems 物院，1998）。就後者而言，一群娃娃在庭園
to have been largely abandoned on Ming porcelains after the Xuande period. 的雕欄內嬉戲，欄外遠山清晰可見。自宣德以
The theme of boys playing became even more popular on blue and white 降，園外遠景山水這一重要元素已甚少見於明
porcelain in the Chenghua reign (1465-87), and bowls with this design have 瓷紋飾。時至成化（公元 1465 至 1487 年），
been excavated from the late Chenghua stratum at the Ming imperial kilns at 飾嬰戲紋的青花瓷益發流行，明代景德鎮御窯
Jingdezhen (see A Legacy of Chenghua, Hong Kong, 1993, pp. 234-5, no. C73). 的成化晚期瓷層亦曾出土一批嬰戲盌，圖見《成
The National Palace Museum, Taipei also has in its collection a number of 窯遺珍》頁 234-5 編號 C73（香港：1993）。

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