Page 126 - Sotheby's Speelman Collection Oct. 3, 2018

Exquisitely enamelled boxes of this type embody the dialogue 此類畫琺瑯盒，乃十七世紀末西風東漸之產物，亦為清宮御
between the East and West in the last quarter of the 17th 用琺瑯作妙手天工之代表。此類盒始於康熙，至乾隆一朝，
century and the resultant achievements of craftsmen working 除款識外，均仍承舊制。高宗好品尚珍，更善變古通今，然
at the Enamel Workshops in the Forbidden City during the 對此類盒卻全無添改之意，足可見其備具不逝之美韻。兩件
Qing period. Boxes of this type were first created under the 清宮舊藏康熙及乾隆年間之相類盒例，施藕荷色地，現乃存
Kangxi Emperor and exact reproductions, with the exception 北京，錄於《故宮博物院藏文物珍品全集：金屬胎琺瑯器》
of the reign mark, were commissioned by the Qianlong
Emperor. It is unusual that no aspect of the box has been even ，香港，2002年，圖版183及209。另見一對藕荷色地盒例，
slightly re-interpreted to suit the Qianlong Emperor’s taste 售於香港蘇富比2014年4月8日，編號3102。再見一例，售於
and as such is a testament to the timeless beauty of these 倫敦佳士得1992年6月8日，編號195。
boxes. Two closely related lilac-ground boxes, one from the
Kangxi period and another from the Qianlong reign, both from 1684年，清廷開放海禁，銅胎畫琺瑯之技藝隨法國傳教士傳
the Qing court collection and still in Beijing, are illustrated in 入廣州。廣州藝匠借近港之便，率先掌握其工藝。此舶來器
The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. 之精工巧製，尊貴華富，深得康熙帝垂愛，遂諭招廣匠及歐
Metal-bodied Enamel Ware, Hong Kong, 2002, pls 183 and 洲教士入朝，以精御用琺瑯作之工。
209. See also a pair of lilac-ground boxes sold in our rooms,
8th April 2014, lot 3102; and a single lilac-ground box was sold 可參考一同式黃地盒例，紋飾近似，康熙年款，現藏台北故
at Christie’s London, 8th June 1992, lot 195. 宮博物院，錄於《明清琺瑯器展覽圖錄》，台北，1999年，
The technique of enamelling on metal was originally 圖版83。同見一康熙五棱盒例，飾白地蓮紋，圖版82。另見
introduced to the Chinese craftsmen in the Guangzhou area 一盌例，紋飾相類，圖版79。
by French Jesuit missionaries in 1684 following the lifting of
restrictions at ports. Being a port city, these artisans were
the first to be exposed to wares from Europe and developed
the skills in creating such wares. Enamoured by the range of
vivid and pastel tones of the imported and tributary wares, the
Kangxi Emperor recruited enamel artisans from Guangzhou
and Jesuit missionaries to work in the Palace and advance the
proficiency of the Enamel Workshop.
Compare a yellow-ground box of this shape with similar
decoration, with a Kangxi mark and of the period, in the
National Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated in Enamel Ware
in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Taipei, 1999, pl. 83, together
with a Kangxi five-lobed box with similar lotus blooms on a
white ground, pl. 82. A bowl decorated with a similar design of
lotus blooms in a similar palette to the present is also included
ibid., pl. 79.

124 SOTHEBY’S 蘇富比