Page 130 - Christies March 16, 2017 The Varata Collection NYC

According to Grace Wu Bruce in her article published in Oriental Art, “the fve- Fig. 2. A Rare Blue and White Leys Jar, Zhadou, Wanli
clawed dragons on the present piece must mean that our example was at least six-character mark and of the period (1573-1620)
intended for use in the imperial household.” Upon closer examination of carved （圖2）明萬曆青花奓斗 六字楷書款
dragons on furniture, Bruce discovers that the present example is the only piece of
hardwood furniture featuring fve-clawed dragons. 伍嘉恩曾於《東方藝術》(Oriental Art) 撰文寫道：「此炕桌刻五爪龍紋，反映
它必屬宮廷御製。」伍氏仔細研究家具上的龍紋雕刻，發現本炕桌乃傳世硬木家
Prior to the establishment of the Palace workshops for Imperial furniture in the early 具中帶五爪龍紋之孤品。
Qing dynasty, it is almost impossible to pinpoint specifc regions or workshops for
the manufacturing of furniture. It is hypothesized by Craig Clunas that Imperial 清代初期，皇宮建立了家具造辦處，在此之前，要判斷一件家具之出處，實為難
furniture from the Ming dynasty was produced in the lower Yangtze River region. 事。柯律格(Craig Clunas) 曾假定明代御製家具出自長江下游；胡德生於《故
Hu Desheng further notes in The Palace Museum Collection: A Treasury of Ming 宮博物院藏明清宮廷家具大觀》亦提及：「蘇州一帶生産的高檔蘇式家具。隨著
and Qing Dynasty Palace Furniture, vol. 1, that “the high quality of furniture produced 為皇家運糧的船只陸續運到北京，進入皇家的園林，別墅和宮廷殿堂」（見前揭
in the Suzhou region was regularly shipped along with Imperial provisions to the 書，上冊，北京，14頁）。
Imperial gardens, villas, courts and palaces in Beijing” (p. 14).

The dynamic and striking dragons confronted on a faming pearl masterfully carved
on the aprons of the present example frmly date the table to the Wanli Period
(1573-1619), and can be compared to those on an Imperial double-dragon carpet,
exquisitely woven with similar animated dragons chasing a faming pearl on a tan
ground sold at Christie’s New York, 11 December 2014, lot 8 (fg 1). The carpet
belongs to a group of ffty-one carpets from the Palace Museum, Beijing, dated to
the Wanli Period (1573-1620), which all have the same dense weave, balance of
design, and vibrant use of color. The Imperial iconography of the writhing dragon
seen on the carpet and the carved apron are remarkably similar, in particular the
powerful fve claws, long horns and whiskers, and sinuous, scaly body and tail.
A related dynamic fve-clawed dragon, also with a lithe scaly body, appears on a
six-character Wanli mark and period blue and white leys jar, zhadou formerly in the
Falk Collection and sold at Christie’s New York, The Falk Collection I: Fine Chinese
Ceramics & Works of Art: 16 October 2001, lot 146 (fg 2).

牙條浮雕祥龍戲珠，火焰騰升，氣勢磅礴，活靈活現，巧奪天工，無疑是萬
曆(1573―1619年)製品，可參考一御製黃地雙龍戲珠地毯，於紐約佳士得拍
出，2014年12月11日，拍品8號 (圖1)。地毯工藝精湛，祥龍維肖維妙，與本品
主題如出一轍，為北京故宮博物館藏萬曆年製一組五十一幅地毯之一，編織緊緻
細密，設計平衡對稱，色彩豐富斑斕。地毯及炕桌上之五爪祥龍皆氣勢雄厚，其
爪、長角、鬚髯，以及盤曲、帶鱗的身軀與尾巴尤其相似，均為宮廷御製工藝精
品。

另可參考傅珂舊藏(Falk Collection)一明萬曆六字楷書款青花奓斗（圖2），於
紐約佳士得拍出，2001年10月16日，拍品146號，其上所描繪之五爪龍亦盤曲
帶鱗。

本拍品將與1995年伍嘉恩著《Chinese Classical Furniture》一同拍賣。

Fig. 1. An Imperial Double Dragon Carpet, Wanli Period (1573-1620)
（圖1）明萬曆 御製雙龍戲珠毯

128 THE MARIE THERESA L. V I R ATA C O L L E C T I O N OF ASIAN ART: A FAMILY LEGACY