Page 89 - Sothebys HK Dragon Emperor April 2024

Expertly painted on both the interior and exterior, Jingdezhen, illustrated in Keitokuchin jiki [Jingdezhen
this bowl epitomises the refinement of the early Ming porcelain], Kyoto, 1982, pl. 40 (top). See also two in the
aesthetic and embodies the ideals of harmony and British Museum, London, the first from the Sir Percival
precision. Its finely potted body, translucent glaze and David collection, illustrated in R.L. Hobson, A Catalogue
delicate floral scroll that flows seamlessly around the of Chinese Pottery and Porcelain in the Collection of Sir
vessel, are remarkable. Painting with cobalt on the Percival David Bt., FSA, London, 1934, pl. CXXXIV (d),
cavetto was particularly difficult and the fine and vivid and the other from the collection of Mrs B.Z. Seligman,
rendering of the floral scroll on this bowl testifies to the published in Jessica Harrison-Hall, Ming Ceramics in
remarkable talent of the potters. the British Museum, London, 2001, pl. 4:25; one in the
Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, illustrated in Mary Tregear,
The form of this bowl and its delicate motif of lotus Guide to Chinese Ceramics in the Ashmolean Museum,
blooms appear to have enjoyed immediate success Oxford, 1966, p. 30; and another in the Indianapolis
in the Yongle period and continued to be painted on Museum included in the exhibition Blue and White:
imperial bowls through the succeeding reign. The Chinese Porcelain and its Impact on the Western World,
remarkable technical and artistic advances made University of Chicago, Chicago, 1985, cat. no. 19. For a
during the Xuande period are evident in the vividness similar auction example, see one from the Tianminlou
and clarity of the design and consistent application of collection, sold in these rooms, 3rd April 2019, lot 10.
cobalt. The instability and fuzziness of the imported
cobalt prevalent on the earlier Yongle wares demanded A slightly larger bowl of this pattern was excavated
a revised formula of the pigment. With the inclusion of from the Yongle stratum at the site of the imperial kiln
manganese native to China, the cobalt pigment used complex in Zhushan, Jingdezhen, and included in the
in the Xuande period enabled greater precision of the exhibition Jingdezhen chutu Ming chu guanyao ciqi/
brushwork, which in turn conveyed a stronger sense of Imperial Hongwu and Yongle Porcelain Excavated at
confidence on the part of the painter. Jingdezhen, Chang Foundation, Taipei, 1996, cat. no. 123.
Bowls painted with this motif of lotus on the exterior Bowls of this design were treasured heirlooms, as
and a composite floral scroll on the interior include one attested by the depiction of ten bowls of this form and
in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Gugong design in the handscroll of the imperial collection of the
Bowuyuan cang Ming chu qinghua ci [Early Ming blue- Yongzheng Emperor dated 1728. From the Moorhead and
and-white porcelain in the Palace Museum], Beijing, Sir Percival David collections, the scroll was sold in our
2002, vol. 2, pl. 148; another in the Palace Museum, London rooms, 19th May 1939, lot 62, and is now in the
Taipei, included in the Exhibition of Selected Hsüan-te British Museum, London, published on the Museum’s
Imperial Porcelains of the Ming Dynasty, Taipei, 1998, cat. website, accession no. PDF X01, 16th view.
no. 134; and a third in the Jingdezhen Ceramic Museum,

此盌內外兼飾，畫功卓絕，足見明初至臻和諧之美。器 ，倫敦，1934年，圖版 CXXXIV (d)，其二為 B.Z.
形精緻，釉色澄明，纏枝蓮紋優雅流暢，誠經典佳例。 Seligman 夫人收藏，錄於霍吉淑，《大英博物館藏中
盌內弧壁繪飾頗難，此盌紋樣細膩生動，非能工巧匠不 國明代陶瓷》，倫敦，2001年，圖版4:25。英國阿什
能為也。 莫林博物館也藏一例，見於陶美，《Guide to Chinese
Ceramics in the Ashmolean Museum》，牛
此盌之器形紋飾，永樂年間已享盛譽，而後多有承襲。 津，1966年，頁30。美國印弟安納波里斯藝術博物館
至宣德一朝工藝尤甚精進，本盌紋樣逼真靈動，青花發 藏盌，則見錄於《Blue and White: Chinese Porcelain
色豔麗均勻，乃宣德佳作。永樂青花多以舶來鈷料製 and its Impact on the Western World》，芝加哥大
色，發色極難掌控，且紋飾常顯渾散模糊，故製色之法 學，芝加哥，1985年，編號19。拍賣類例可參見天民
有待改良。宣德之鈷藍則添國產錳料製色，發色清晰， 樓舊藏，售於香港蘇富比2019年4月3日，編號10。
紋飾筆觸細膩，更見工匠之精湛畫功。
景德鎮珠山御窰廠窰址永樂地層出土一相類紋飾但盌徑
北京故宮藏一青花纏枝蓮紋盌例，與本盌相類，內壁 稍大之例，展於《景德鎮出土明初官窰瓷器》，鴻禧美
飾花卉紋，外壁飾纏枝蓮紋，錄於《明初青花瓷》， 術館，台北，1996年，編號123。
北京，2002年，圖版148。台北故宮亦藏一例，見於
《明代宣德官窰菁華特展圖錄》，台北，2008年，編 此類青花纏枝蓮紋盌歷代均為罕珍極品，世代相傳。成
號134。第三例藏景德鎮中國陶瓷博物館，刊於《景徳 於清雍正六年（1728年）之〈古玩圖〉軸，繪纏枝蓮紋
鎮磁器》，京都，1982年，圖版40（上）。大英博物 十盌疊置，可見一斑。此卷曾為 Moorhead 及大維德爵
館亦見兩例，其一為大維德爵士收藏，載於霍蒲孫， 士收藏，後售於倫敦蘇富比1939年5月19日，編號62，
《A Catalogue of Chinese Pottery and Porcelain 現藏倫敦大英博物館，載於博物館官方網站，藏品編號
in the Collection of Sir Percival David Bt., FSA》 PDF X01，第16面。
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