Page 72 - Christie's, The Palmer Family Collection May 31 to June 1, 2023 Hong Kong

AN EXTREMELY RARE YONGZHENG FAMILLE ROSE
BLACK-BACK DISH
ROSEMARY SCOTT, INDEPENDENT SCHOLAR

This exquisite dish has been painted with birds, two colours can be traced back to the Six Dynasties period (AD 220-589),
of blossoming prunus, and bamboo by one of the most and two painters from this era specialising in the theme are
highly-skilled of ceramic decorators. The Yongzheng reign mentioned in historical records, birds and flowers seem to
is known for the high standard of painting seen on overglaze have been well-established as a subject for painting in both
enamelled imperial porcelain, but even within this elite two-dimensional art and on ceramics by Tang (AD 618-907)
group, the dish stands out for the exceptional quality of its times (see Lai Sukyee, ‘Bird and flower painting on Tang and
painting, especially the naturalistic depiction of the birds. Song ceramics’, Style in the East Asian Tradition – Colloquies
Interestingly, while the decoration on this dish has been on Art & Archaeology in Asia No. 14, Rosemary Scott (ed.),
unanimously praised, the birds depicted have been repeatedly London, 1987, pp. 103-119). It has been suggested that bird
misidentified. In western descriptions, they have frequently, and flower painting thrived following the establishment
and wrongly, been described as magpies. This is perhaps of the Hanlin Academy in the reign of Xuanzong (r. 713-
unsurprising, since the design of magpies and prunus is a 55). Bird and flower painting was to grow in popularity,
popular and auspicious one. However, the four birds on this especially amongst court painters, thereafter. In the Northern
dish are clearly Eurasian tree sparrows (Passer montanus), 樹麻 Song dynasty (AD 960-1127) bird and flower painting was
雀. These are also auspicious birds – symbolising happiness even embraced by the emperor himself, as can be seen in
and the arrival of spring, and while they are less common on surviving paintings from the brush of Emperor Huizong (r.
porcelains, sparrows, often shown with bamboo, have been a AD 1100-26) – such as Five-coloured Parakeet on Blossoming
favoured subject for Chinese painters on silk and, later, paper Apricot Tree, a handscroll in ink and colour on silk, now in
since Song times. the Boston Museum of Fine Arts (illustrated by Wu Tung in
Tales from the Land of Dragons – 1,000 Years of Chinese Painting,
In the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New Boston, 1997, pp. 54-5, no. 13) and Finches on Bamboo,
th
York, there is a 12 century Southern Song fan painting in another handscroll in ink and colours on silk, now in the
ink and colours on silk, mounted as an album leaf (accession collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York,
number: 24.80.487 (https://www.metmuseum.org/art/ accession number 1981.278 (illustrated by James Cahill, Treasures
collection/search/40063, accessed February 2023, Fig. 1) of Asia – Chinese Painting, New York/Geneva, 1960, p. 73).
which, like the current dish, depicts sparrows, blossoming
prunus and bamboo. Also, in common with the current dish, It is interesting to note that the famous hanging scroll in ink
the plumage of the sparrows on the fan painting is painted in and colour on silk, known as The Three Friends of Winter and a
careful detail. While the genre of ‘bird and flower’ painting Hundred Birds 三友百禽, dated to AD 1413, by the early Ming

清雍正 外烏金釉內粉彩梅雀爭春圖盤 錄於2023年2月) (圖一)，該畫跟本盤一樣，俱以麻雀梅竹為
題材。兩者另一個共通點，是扇面所繪的麻雀均細膩傳神。花
蘇玫瑰 (獨立學者)
鳥畫一脈可上溯至六朝 (公元220至589年)，史籍中亦有提及
此盤工巧絕倫，所繪翎毛、二色梅花與翠竹俱出自頂尖畫師之 當時兩位花鳥畫名家，時至唐代 (公元618至907年)，花鳥儼
手。雍正御瓷的釉上畫琺瑯素以丹青妙筆冠絕天下，但出神入 然已是平面與陶瓷藝術不可或缺的題材之一，詳見黎淑儀論文
化若本品者少之又少，其麻雀之惟妙惟肖尤顯功力。有意思的 <Bird and flower painting on Tang and Song ceramics>，
是，雖然本盤紋飾之佳已有公論，但其雀鳥卻屢遭誤認。西方文 全文發表於筆者主編的《Style in the East Asian Tradition
獻常誤稱之為喜鵲。說來這一誤會也算情有可原，蓋因喜鵲、 – Colloquies on Art & Archaeology in Asia No. 14》頁
梅花這一組合乃司空見慣的祥瑞紋飾。然而，本拍品所繪四鳥 103-119 (倫敦：1987)。據稱，宋宣宗 (公元713至755年在位)
顯然是樹麻雀 (Passer montanus)。此鳥亦寓意禎祥，象徵歡 治下成立了翰林院，於焉花鳥畫日益流行。此後花鳥畫蔚然成
欣喜慶、春回大地，縱然麻雀不算熱門的瓷器紋飾，但自宋以 風，備受宮廷畫家喜愛。北宋時期 (公元960至1127年)，花鳥
降，其身影常出現於中國絹本及宋以後的紙本畫作，且多以翠 畫深受天子推崇，宋徽宗 (公元1100至1126年在位) 的傳世之
竹襯托。 作堪可為此現身說法：一者為絹本水墨設色《五色鸚鵡圖》卷，
今藏波士頓美術館，圖見吳同著作《Tales from the Land of
紐約大都會藝術博物館藏鑲為冊頁的十二世紀南宋佚名絹本 Dragons – 1,000 Years of Chinese Painting》頁54-5編
水墨設色《竹梅小禽圖》團扇 (典藏號24.80.487，詳見https:// 號13 (波士頓：1997)；另一例為紐約大都會藏絹本水墨設色
www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/40063，登 《竹禽圖》卷 (典藏號1981.278)，圖見高居翰 (James Cahill)

70 A HERITAGE OF APPRECIATION