Page 55 - Sotheby's Asia Week March 2024 Chinee Art

Following the capture of the capital by the Jin army in
公元1127年，南宋遷都臨安（今杭州），興南方貿
1127, the Song court fled south to Lin’an (modern-day 易，上乘瓷器需求亦隨之增加。當時龍泉窰已有數十
Hangzhou) and, with it, brought a demand for trade and 窰址，提高產量條件成熟，遂建造巨窰，每次可燒四
fine ceramics. Already an established site with dozens of 至五萬件，曰「龍窰」，旋即成為製瓷重地。
kilns, Longquan was fit to rise to the challenge. Building
enormous ‘dragon kilns’ capable of firing forty to fifty 南宋龍泉窰有意仿效官窰瓷器，同時迎合文士品味，
thousand pieces at once, Longquan very quickly became 開拓客源，成品器型簡約勻稱，釉色厚潤。以拍品
a national center for ceramic production.
152 及 153 為例，兩者均採古代青銅器型，造型雖然
Aiming to replicate imperial Guan (‘official’) ware for 簡約，粉青釉色卻引人注目近觀，或許正因器型極
a broader literati clientele, Longquan pieces from the 簡，方更顯釉色瑩潤動人，而器面雅淡紋飾，不蓋青
Southern Song have a subtle luster accentuated by simple, 釉秀麗。明代《格古要論》載，雙魚屬龍泉窰經典紋
well-proportioned forms. Take, for example, lots 152 and 飾，比較拍品155，雙魚象徵婚姻和洽美滿，亦寄吉
153, both of which embrace and adapt ancient bronze 祥寓意，而此器突顯釉面亮度，如水面波光粼粼。
forms. Despite – or indeed because of – the vases’ sim-
plicity, one’s eye is drawn to the rich complexity of their 自十三世紀蒙古入主中原，龍泉瓷不僅為國人珍重，
translucent blue-green glazes. Even when surface decora- 於海外亦受推崇。龍泉窰瓷器遠銷中東至日本各地，
tion is present, it never overwhelms or detracts from the 為迎合不同市場喜好，開發多款新穎器形及紋飾，
beauty of the glaze. For example, already described in the
Ming guide to connoisseurship, the Gegu Yaolun (‘Important 如這次拍賣一件元十四世紀龍泉窰青釉纏枝牡丹紋大
discussions about assessing antiques’), as a classic motif 瓶（拍品 171），貼花及刻花雍雅華貴，此類瓷器在
of Longquan wares, the ‘double fish’ applied on lot 155, 當時於亞洲多地深受推崇，從伊斯坦布爾至雅加達之
comes to symbolize marital happiness and good fortune, 藝術收藏均佔重要地位，直至明代早期仍有生產。
while emphasizing the luminosity of the glazed surface that
appears like a shimmering pool of water. 此時期間，龍泉窰於明初為朝廷燒製之器極其出衆，
尺寸龐大而品質上乘，乃十四世紀末，朝廷監督下龍
Particularly from the arrival of the Mongols in the thir- 泉窰產品，與景德鎮青花瓷器並駕齊驅。比較一件明
teenth century, Longquan wares were no longer just 永樂龍泉窰青釉刻花大盤（拍品 148），出自一位前
national but international treasures. With a need to meet 意大利大使珍藏，即屬其中珍貴佳例。此類器尺寸多
regional demand from the Middle East to Japan, a vast
array of new forms and designs was developed. Produced 數較大，以陳設為主，釉料豐潤，刻花及模印紋飾典
well into the Ming dynasty, larger statement pieces with 雅。此類瓷器雖然遠銷海外而紋飾華貴豐富，卻仍保
elaborate appliqué and incised designs, such as the 留中國藝術獨有之優雅，將青花瓷器之纏枝花卉紋飾
exceptionally elegant ‘peony’ vase featured here (lot 171), 施於綫條起伏之單色瓷面。
were coveted across Asia and feature prominently in col-
lections from Istanbul to Jakarta. 中國青瓷自古至今燒製不斷，瑩潤秀雅，在製瓷史上
佔據獨有位置，從精緻茶盌至華貴瓷瓶、大盤，優雅
Especially noteworthy in this period are the imperial 魅力歷久彌新，極堪珍藏細賞。
Longquan wares produced for the early Ming court. These
vessels of large form and extremely fine quality were
made in the Longquan kilns from the late 14th century
under the supervision of the court in parallel with the
blue-and-white wares of Jingdezhen. As beautifully exem-
plified by the ‘crabapple’ charger formerly in the collec-
tion of an Italian ambassador (lot 148), these wares were
mostly larger vessels designed for display with luscious
glazes over tastefully incised decoration. Despite their
international reach and often exuberant designs, these
later pieces maintain a characteristic Chinese elegance,
incorporating the delicate floral scrolls of their blue-and-
white counterparts onto a thoughtfully thrown voluptuous
canvas of porcelain.
Produced and treasured from antiquity to the present,
the elegant, unctuous greens and blues of Chinese cela-
don enjoy a unique position in the history of ceramics.
From the most delicate of tea bowls to the imposing gran-
deur of massive vases and chargers, Chinese green wares
possess a timeless and spellbinding elegance worthy of
the finest collections.
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