Page 56 - Bonhams Ming and Qing Cloisonne Hong Kong December 2, 2021

The present cloisonné enamel box and cover is extremely rare and no
other box of this type appears to have been published. The enamel
decoration on the present lot is exceptional for the high quality of its
execution of details which are boldly filled with areas of colour creating a
powerful scene made of contrasting colours complemented with subtle
use of different shades adding depth to the scene.

The mountainous landscape scene decorated on the cover, which is
brightly rendered in areas of red, turquoise and green enamels, appears
to have been inspired by the subject matter known as Jing kou xian
shan, ‘The Celestial Mountains of Jingkou’ which had been favoured
by scholars, social elites and emperors from 16th century onward. The
subject matter was further popularised by woodblock prints depicting
scenes from novels and reproductions of paintings of this period. See a
painting depicting a similar landscape in the National Palace Museum,
Taipei, dated to 1522 and attributed to Wen Zhengming (1470–1559)
(acc.no.Gu-hua-002196).

In shape and design, the box appears to have been inspired by carved
lacquer and porcelain circular boxes which were frequently adorned with
similar scenes and floral cartouches on the sides; for example, see a blue
and white circular box and cover, Jiajing mark and period, illustrated in
The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Blue and
White Porcelain with Underglazed Red (II), Hong Kong, 2009, no.109.

For cloisonné enamel wares of other forms but also decorated with figural-
landscape scenes, see a wrist rest decorated with figures in a pavilion
courtyard rendered in areas of colour, attributed to the 17th century,
illustrated by H.Brinker and A.Lutz, Chinesisches Cloisonné: Die Sammlung
Pierre Uldry, Zurich, 1984, pl.174. See also a Ming dynasty cloisonné
enamel flask-shaped vessel in the shape of a gourd in the National Palace
Museum, Taipei, illustrated in Enamel Ware in the Ming and Ch’ing Dynasty,
Taipei, 1999, no.14. Compare also two cloisonné enamel boxes and covers,
Ming dynasty, of related form, the first in Museé Arts Decoratifs, Paris,
illustrate by B.Quette, ed., Cloisonné: Chinese Enamels from the Yuan, Ming
and Qing Dynasties, New York, 2011, p.36, fig.3.10; and another illustrated
by H.Brinker and A.Lutz, ibid., pls.142 and 142a.

盒蓋微隆頂，子母口，平底。蓋面以掐絲琺瑯飾仙山樓閣人物圖，樹木
蔥鬱，山巒起伏，一座仙山高高屹立於正中，天空中七彩祥雲圍繞，仙
山旁有一樓閣，兩高士站在亭台之上。蓋壁及盒外壁以掐絲琺瑯飾開光
纏枝花卉紋。用彩豐富，發色艷麗，極其罕見。

「京口」是今天江蘇省鎮江市的古稱。 「京口三山」指位於鎮江的三座
山：金山、焦山、北固山。這三座山呈三足鼎立之勢，位於長江和運河
的十字交叉點上，為咽喉之地。在明代中晚期，無論版畫還是捲軸畫，
「京口三山」圖像開始大量增加並漸漸形成經典圖式，成為歷代文人墨
客甚至帝王一直尋卻永不可抵的仙山勝境。台北故宮博物院藏一件明文
徵明金山圖畫軸，（博物館編號：故-畫-002196）收錄於《石渠寶笈初
編：御書房》中，並有乾隆帝御題詩，可見此題材從明代中葉起至清代
都深受文人甚至帝王的喜愛。

此式掐絲琺瑯蓋盒極為少見，目前公私收藏均不見有同類的掐絲琺瑯
器。但其形製及裝飾風格與明代中晚期的漆器及瓷器相似，如北京故宮
博物院藏一件明嘉靖青花靈芝桃鶴紋圓盒，其盒壁亦飾有開光花卉紋，
可資比較，見《故宮博物院藏文物珍品全集．青花釉裏紅（中）》，香
港，2009年，編號109。

其它器型飾山水人物的銅套掐絲琺瑯器，可見Walter Sedgwick女士舊
藏一件十七世紀掐絲琺瑯亭台人物臂擱，著錄於H.Brinker and A.Lutz，
《Chinesisches Cloisonné: Die Sammlung Pierre Uldry》，蘇黎世，1984
年，圖版174。另見台北故宮博物院藏一件明代掐絲琺瑯葫蘆式扁瓶，飾
壽山福海宮殿紋，著錄於《明清琺瑯器展覽圖錄》，台北，1999年，編號
Image courtesy of the National Palace Museum, Taipei 14。巴黎裝飾藝術博物館藏一件明代牡丹葡萄紋蓋盒，盒蓋形製與本拍品
台北故宮博物院藏 類似，見B.Quette編，《Cloisonné: Chinese Enamels from the Yuan, Ming
and Qing Dynasties》，紐約，2011年，頁36，圖3.10。另見Pierre Uldry
收藏一例，著錄於H.Brinker and A.Lutz，同前書，圖版142及142a。

54 | BONHAMS