Page 57 - Important Chinese Art Hong Kong April 2, 2019 Sotheby's

This magnificent vase belongs to a group of vessels 雍正帝在位年間，景泰藍並不甚受重視，至乾隆之
commissioned by the Qianlong Emperor which was created 時，弘曆對銅胎掐絲琺瑯器尤為鍾愛，除大規模製
to imitate cloisonné enamel. The Qianlong Emperor was 作外，嘗下命以瓷仿傚，本品當屬其中。當時也有以
particularly fond of cloisonné work which he revived on a 銅胎畫琺瑯仿掐絲琺瑯之品，以描金細線代替曲捲銅
grand scale after a period of disregard under the Yongzheng
Emperor. He had it imitated in painted enamel and porcelain, 絲。雖遠早於十八世紀前，已有模倣不同材質之作，
where the wires separating the cloisons of different enamels 但乾隆年間，工藝精湛，仿學藝作近乎完美，時出幾
were mirrored by finely painted golden lines, as seen on the 可亂真之品。畫師在本品上以描金勾勒，妙仿景泰藍
present piece. 上之鎏金銅絲，流麗線條，對比鮮明，賞心悅目。
No other examples appear to be recorded, although a
cloisonné-imitation bottle vase in the Qing court collections 本瓶珍罕獨特，他例無尋，並無相近作例記載，應屬
and now in the Palace Museum, Beijing, decorated with 孤品。北京故宮博物院清宮舊藏一鳳耳瓶例，器身飾
similar collar bands and archaistic handles (phoenix) 纏枝花卉，紋飾與本品可資比較，圖刊於《故宮博
but with the floral designs arranged in a leafy meander, 物院藏文物珍品全集．金屬胎琺瑯器》，香港，2008
is illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of 年，圖版119。
the Palace Museum. Porcelains with Cloisonné Enamel
Decoration and Famille-Rose Decoration, Hong Kong, 2008, 宏觀乾隆仿掐絲琺瑯瓷瓶，本品設計精巧，所飾花卉
pl. 119.
自然生動，畫意非常，靈動如生，與一般用金彩勾勒
Particularly unique of its type is the more naturalistic, 線條之類例有別，見一紋飾相若的夔鳳耳瓶，尺寸稍
painterly representations of the floral decoration on the 大，曾展於《香江雅集：香港回歸祖國20週年特展》
present vase, in opposed to the more usual gold-outlined ，北京，2018年，編號193。本品色彩仿金屬胎掐絲
designs, such as that seen on a larger vase decorated with 琺瑯器，但其色地上綴紋飾繁密，風格上更接近於洋
bats among interlaced flower sprays, also flanked by a pair
of dragon handles, exhibited in Treasures of Hong Kong. The 彩瓷作。「洋彩」一詞，為高宗所用，概指由歐洲傳
20th Anniversary of Hong Kong Handover, Beijing, 2018, 教士傳入清宮，以舶來色彩、西方技巧，加添白料調
cat. no. 193. The decorative repertoire of the present vase, 研，繪飾洋風彩瓷之法，御作坊嘗經多番實驗始成功
although essentially imitating cloisonné metalwork, stands 採用，此瓶上之八吉祥紋與洋花相配，正為佳例，見
stylistically in the tradition of yangcai porcelain with its dense 證中西交流。
floral designs on a coloured ground. The term ‘yangcai’,
used by the Emperor himself, acknowledges the exchanges 本品紋飾獨特，未見造型紋飾相若的掐絲琺瑯例可直
between China and the West, seen here in the Western-style 接比較。惟其松綠地上加繪描金如意，與台北故宮博
floral compositions. Furthermore, the design is rendered in 物院藏十六世紀掐絲琺瑯玉壺春瓶有異曲同工之妙，
tones created through the use of white enamel which was
first introduced to the Qing court by Jesuit artists and, after 錄於《明清掐絲琺瑯器》，故宮博物院，台北，1999
repeated experiments, were successfully copied by imperial 年，編號9。另比較清宮舊藏一晚明掐絲琺瑯鳳首提
craftsmen. 樑執壺例，現存北京故宮博物院，圖載於《故宮博
物院藏文物珍品全集．金屬胎琺瑯器》，香港，2002
Although there is no direct counterpart to the present vase
known in cloisonné enamel, the treatment of its turquoise 年，圖版67。
ground with gold-painted ruyi swirls is vaguely reminiscent
of a 16th century cloisonné vase from the National Palace
Museum, Taipei, illustrated in Enamel Ware in the Ming
and Ch’ing Dynasties, Taipei, 1999, pl. 9. Furthermore, the
metalwork-imitation elements on the present vase, such as
the gilt-decorated brown-glazed bands and dragon handles,
appear to be truthful representations of earlier cloisonné
enamel wares, see a late Ming dynasty cloisonné enamel
phoenix-head ewer in the Qing court collection, now in
Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of
the Palace Museum. Metal-bodied Enamel Ware, Hong Kong,
2002, pl. 67.

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