Page 241 - Christie's, NYC Important Chinese Works Of Art Sept. 22-23, 2022

Perfect Imperial Archaism

A Rare Yongzheng Ge-type Vase

宸心古韻：雍正御製仿哥釉瓶

By Rosemary Scott
Independent scholar
Visiting ceramics research fellow,
Palace Museum, Beijing

蘇玫瑰
獨立學者暨故宮陶瓷研究所客座研究員

The reign of the Yongzheng Emperor (1723-35) is renowned for the
exceptional elegance of the ceramics made for imperial use. It is also known
for the emperor’s passion for antiques and his desire to have ceramics made
in close imitation of the revered wares of the Song dynasty. The current vase
with Ge-type glaze perfectly exemplifies fine imperial ceramics of this type.
The emperor’s admiration for crackle-glazed ceramics of the Song dynasty,
such as Guan, Ge and Ru wares, is reflected in a painting created by the
Jesuit court artist Lang Shining (Giuseppe Castiglione 1688-1766) in the first
year of the Yongzheng reign (AD 1723). The painting, entitled Assembled
Blessings, depicts a variety of auspicious plants arranged in a crackle-glazed
vase, which may be an original Song dynasty vessel or may be a Qing vessel
inspired by Song wares (see National Palace Museum, New Visons at the
Ch’ing Court – Giuseppe Castiglione and Western-Style Trends, Taipei, 2007,
pp. 50-51, no. 11). (Fig.1) While some of the Qing dynasty imperial ceramics
made with Song-type glazes do not have Song shapes, both the vase in the
Lang Shining painting and the current vase were made in Song forms to
complement their Song-style crackled glazes.
A Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279) Guan vase of smaller size but similar
shape, apart from a slightly more dished mouth, to the current Yongzheng
vessel is in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London
(illustrated by Rose Kerr in Song Dynasty Ceramics, London 2004, p. 87,
pls. 87 & 87a), having been given to the museum in 1967 by Sir Alan Barlow
(1881-1968). A somewhat larger Song vase of the same form, but with a
mouth similar to the current Yongzheng vessel, was excavated from the Guan
ware Laohudong kiln site (see Du Zhengxian (ed.), Hangzhou Laohudong

Fig. 1 Giuseppe Castiglione (1688-1766),
Assembled Blessings, hanging scroll. National
Palace Museum, Taipei, 故畫00080300000.
圖一 郎世寧, 聚瑞圖, 立軸, 臺北國立故宮博物院
藏, 館藏編號故畫00080300000

雍正御瓷素以清逸雅淡冠絕天下。除此之外，雍正皇帝好雅慕古之心和仿燒宋代 倫敦維多利亞與艾伯特博物館藏一例南宋(公元1127至1279年) 官釉瓶，較諸本拍
名瓷之熱忱，亦常為人津津樂道。本季呈獻的仿哥釉瓶，堪可為此等仿古御瓷現身 品，其體積較小，盤口造型略為明顯，但形制相仿，此乃1967年巴婁爵士 (1881至
說法。 1968年) 饋贈之物，圖見柯玫瑰著作《Song Dynasty Ceramics》頁87圖版87 &
87a (倫敦：2004)。老虎洞官窯遺址曾出土一件器型較大但形制相同的宋代官釉
雍正帝對官、哥、汝等名窯燒造的開片宋瓷奉為圭臬，就此可證諸耶穌會傳教士暨 瓶，其口沿與本拍品大同小異，圖見杜正賢《杭州老虎洞窯址瓷器精選》頁40編號
宮廷畫家郎世寧 (Giuseppe Castiglione，公元1688至1766年) 繪於雍正元年 (即 15 (北京：2002)。此例體積較大的出土文物，原應配有仿青銅樣式的堆塑環耳，這
公元1723年) 的《聚瑞圖》。(圖一) 畫中瓷瓶釉面開片，當中祥瑞花草疊呈，此器或 也許正是同類作品的原型。至於與本拍品最為接近的南宋開片釉實物，同樣是來自
是宋代原作，或為清代仿燒，圖見臺北國立故宮博物院出版的《新視界：郎世寧與清 老虎洞窯址的宋代官釉瓶，圖見前述著作頁51編號26。兩者均器腹扁圓，而且瓶口
宮西洋風》頁50-51編號11 (臺北：2007)。儘管部份清代仿宋釉御瓷未有採用宋代 造型含蓄。
形制，但郎氏畫中瓷瓶與本拍品均沿用宋代瓶式，以襯托其仿宋釉面的開片效果。

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