Page 46 - Chinese Ceramics the Linyushanren Collection Part 1 , Christie's

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A LONGQUAN CELADON ‘TWIN FISH’ DISH from the Sir Percival David Collection London is illustrated by Ikutaro
Itoh in Masterpieces of Chinese Ceramics from the Percival David Collection,
SOUTHERN SONG DYNASTY, 13TH CENTURY Osaka, 1998, p. 30, Catalogue, no. 1. In all these early examples, two fish
were placed side by side, symmetrical on a central axis. The change of
The dish is potted with deep fluted sides carved with upright lotus petals composition on Longquan version by making two fish chasing each other
on the exterior, rising to a flat everted rim. The interior is decorated with a transformed the old motif into a lively scene.
pair of sprig-moulded fish. The dish is covered overall with an even glaze
of bluish-green tone, with the exception of the foot ring which is burnt A very similar dish unearthed from the Southern Song dynasty hoard
orange in the firing. in Taojiang county, Hunan province is illustrated in Nezu Museum,
Heavenly Blue: Southern Song Celadons, Tokyo, 2010, p. 144, fig. 24-9. A
8¡ in. (21.3 cm.) diam., Japanese wood box dish of similar form but decorated with a pair of small fish was unearthed
from the Sinan shipwreck, illustrated in Relics Salvaged from the Seabed Off
HK$900,000-1,200,000 US$120,000-160,000 Sinan, Seoul, 1985, p. 23, plate. 11. A virtually identical dish with twin-
fish motif from the Sakamoto Goro Collection sold at Sotheby’s New
PROVENANCE York, 16 September 2014, lot 2. An example from the Riesco Collection
Sen Shu Tey, Tokyo sold twice at Sotheby’s, London, once in 1984 and again in 1986, and
then at Christie’s New York, on 19 September 2007, lot 260. Another
EXHIBITED example, from the Sir Percival David Collection and now in the British
Sen Shu Tey, Special Exhibition ‘Run Through 10 Years’, Tokyo, 2006, Museum, London, is illustrated by S. Pierson, Designs as Signs: Decoration
Catalogue, no. 70 and Chinese Ceramics, London, 2001, pl. 11.
Nezu Museum, Heavenly Blue: Southern Song Celadons, Tokyo, 9 October
to 14 November 2010, Catalogue, no. 44 南宋 龍泉窯雙魚紋折沿盤
Christie’s, The Classical Age of Chinese Ceramics: An Exhibition of Song
Treasures from the Linyushanren Collection, Hong Kong, 22 to 27 November 來源
2012; New York, 15 to 20 March 2013; London, 10 to 14 May 2013, 千秋庭，東京
Catalogue, no. 68
展覽
LITERATURE 千秋庭，《創立十周年紀念展覽會》，東京，2006年，圖錄編號70
Sen Shu Tey, The Collection of Chinese Art, Tokyo, 2006, p. 59, no. 70 根津美術館，《南宋の青磁》，東京，2010年10月9日至11月14日，圖錄
Nezu Museum, Heavenly Blue: Southern Song Celadons, Tokyo, 2010, p. 71, 編號44
fig. 44 佳士得，《古韻天成：臨宇山人宋瓷珍藏展覽》，香港，2012年11月22至
Christie’s, The Classical Age of Chinese Ceramics: An Exhibition of Song 27日；紐約，2013年3月15至20日；倫敦，2013年5月10至14日，圖錄編
Treasures from the Linyushanren Collection, Hong Kong, 2012, pp. 166-167, 號68
no. 68
著錄
The decorative scheme on this handsome dish claims a variety of 千秋庭，《中國美術蒐集》，東京，2006年，59頁，編號70
meanings. At its most basic, it can be read simply as two fish swimming 根津美術館，《南宋の青磁》，東京，2010，71頁，編號44
in the bluish-green waters of the small pond suggested by the dish’s 佳士得，《古韻天成：臨宇山人宋瓷珍藏展覽》，香港，2012年，166-167
circular form and aquatic colour. But the Chinese are fond of plays 頁，編號68
on words, particularly of puns based on homonyms, or words that are
pronounced identically but have different meanings. Many Chinese 本盤釉質潤澤，發色青翠，溫潤如玉，是龍泉青瓷中難得的佳品。盤底
designs thus lend themselves to presentation as rebuses, or visual puns. 的模印雙魚在青釉的映襯下宛如兩條游魚追逐於碧波之間，栩栩如生。
Pronounced yú in Mandarin Chinese, the word for ‘fish’ is a homonym 雙魚紋飾亦有「年年有餘」及「魚水和諧」等諸多吉祥寓意，象徵家庭富
for ‘surplus’ and, by extension, ‘abundance’. Thus, as a visual pun, the 足、夫妻和美。雙魚紋最早可以追溯到漢代，在一些東漢的青銅洗中即可
fish can be interpreted as a wish to the viewer for abundance in all things. 見到雙魚紋的例子。這一裝飾主題最早被越窯引入瓷器當中，相關例子可
Moreover, because there are two fish, Chinese viewers would interpret 見大維德爵士舊藏的一件西晉越窯青釉雙魚洗，著錄於1998年大阪出版
the design as shuangyú, which means ‘double fish’ and, by extension, is 《Masterpieces of Chinese Ceramics from the Percival David Collection》，
an auspicious wish to the viewer for double abundance or great good 30頁，圖錄編號1。在這些早期的例子中，雙魚往往呈左右對稱排布，缺乏
fortune. Additionally, the double-fish motif stands as a symbol of marital 生氣。至南宋龍泉窯，雙魚的排布被改成首尾相接，憑添了不少動感。
harmony. See, Stacey Pierson, Designs as Signs: Decoration and Chinese
Ceramics, London: Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, School of 此種貼雙魚的折沿盤流行於南宋至元代。一件相似的龍泉雙魚紋盤出土於
Oriental and African Studies, University of London, 2001, p. 19. 湖南省桃江縣窖藏，載於根津美術館2010年出版，《南宋の青磁》，1
44頁，圖24-9。另一件相近的例子發現於韓國全羅道新安元代海底沉船，
The appearance of double fish motif can be traced back to as early as the 載於韓國文化部文物局1985年出版，《Relics Salvaged from the Seabed
Han dynasty. Bronze pan vessels decorated with double-fish motif were Off Sinan》，23頁，圖版11。
popular from the Eastern Han to the Jin Dynasty. It was based on the
bronze prototype that the early ceramic version of ‘double fish’ dishes
were produced. A Western Jin Dynasty Yue ware ‘double fish’ dish

The Classic Age of Chinese Ceramics 古韻天成 — 臨宇山人珍藏（一） 44