Page 120 - Important Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art, Hong Kong

Copper Red Wars, (R. Scott ed.) London, 1992, pl. 1). Interestingly, on these
Changsha Tongguan wares the birds and flowers are frequently created
using fine iron brown lines, while the broader lines are in copper green
or copper red. Combined with the fine lines often incised into the clay
body, this technique created a lively style, and one that is frequently full of
movement.

In the Song dynasty bird and flower painting on silk or paper reached fig. 1 Collection of the General Egyptian
new heights with artists such as Cui Bai ( 崔白 c. 1044-1088) undertaking Book Organization
further development of the xiesheng style using meticulous brush work to
bring an even greater sense of realism. Significantly, the 宣和畫譜 Xuanhe 圖一 埃及書籍組織藏品
huapu - a catalogue of paintings in the imperial collection of the Xuanhe
period (1119-25) – devotes five chapters to bird and flower painting and 時至宋代，崔白（約 1044 年 -1088 年）等藝術家長於細筆
records the subject matter and its significance in detail. Maggie Bickford 勾勒，其作品益發生動傳神，這不僅進一步完善了寫生技
has noted that amongst the works cited, 54 paintings by 16 artists include 法，亦使絹本和紙本花鳥畫的發展攀上了新的高峰。就此可
the word 梅 mei (plum) in their title (see Maggie Bickford, Ink Plum – The 證諸宣和年間（公元 1119 至 1125 年）收錄宮廷藏畫的《宣
Making of a Chinese Scholar-Painting Genre, Cambridge, 1996, p. 83). It is 和畫譜》，書中闡述花鳥畫題材及其重要性的篇幅便有五卷
suggested that the rise in the popularity of plum blossom as a subject for 之多。據畢嘉珍（Maggie Bickford）統計，書內引述 16 名
the arts coincided with a rise in bird and flower painting. Certainly an 畫家的作品中，標題有「梅」者共 54 幅，詳見畢氏著作《Ink
appreciable proportion of depictions of birds and flowers, in both the two- Plum - The Making of a Chinese Scholar-Painting Genre》，
and three-dimensional arts, show the birds perched on blossoming plum 劍橋，1996 年，83 頁。據分析，梅花這一題材日益流行，
branches – as they do on one side of the current flask. 恰好與花鳥畫的興起不謀而合。顯然，以花鳥為題的平面和
立體作品中，不乏立於盛放梅枝的鳥兒描寫，而這正是本拍
The Northern Song Emperor Huizong ( 徽宗 AD 1100-1126) was himself 品其中一面器腹的紋飾題材。
an accomplished calligrapher and painter, who also established the Imperial
Painting Academy 翰 林 畫 院 Hanlin huayuan. One of the emperor’s 北宋徽宗（公元 1100 至 1126 年）本身是一名卓越的書畫家，
favourite subjects in his own work was bird and flower painting. A number 亦是翰林畫院的創辦人。花鳥畫是他心愛的藝術題材之一，
of bird and flower paintings attributed to Huizong have survived, and these 他有幾幅傳世的花鳥畫，其畫工格外細膩逼真。波士頓美術
too are characterized by a meticulous realism. Huizong’s extant bird and 館藏《五色鸚鵡圖》為其中之一，畫中鳥兒立於盛放的杏花
flower paintings include 五 色 鸚 鵡 圖 Five-coloured Parakeet, in which the 枝頭；其二是北京故宮珍藏《四禽圖》冊頁，畫中鳥兒棲於
bird is shown perched on the branches of a blossoming apricot (now in 盛放的梅枝及竹枝上，圖見畢嘉珍前述著作圖版 2 號；其三
the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston), the album Four Birds [on Blossoming 是紐約大都會藝術博物館藏《竹禽圖》，畫中小鳥立於枝葉
Branches and Bamboo], (illustrated by Maggie Bickford, op. cit., pl. 2), in which 掩映的翠竹枝頭。至於本拍品的鳥兒，也結合了折枝梅花、
the small birds perch on blossoming plum branches and bamboo stems 折枝杏花和竹枝。更引人入勝的是上述徽宗冊頁中，四幅中
(now in the Palace Museum, Beijing), and 竹 禽 圖 Finches and Bamboo, in 有兩幅採用了雙鳥對望的構圖，近似本拍品前後瓶腹的樣式。
which the birds are depicted perching on leafy bamboo stems (now in the
Metropolitan Museum, New York). The birds on the current flask are also 宋瓷的花鳥畫工以磁州瓷枕為上品，當中又以觀台東艾口
shown in association with blossoming plum, blossoming apricot and with 窯、禹縣和湯陰鶴壁集的製品尤佳。這些瓷枕造型多變（如
leafy bamboo. It is additionally interesting to note that on two of the four 虎形枕和孩兒枕 )，但枕面無不寬濶平整，為能工巧匠提供
album leaves by Huizong, mentioned above, two birds are depicted in a 了創作花鳥畫或其他題材的絕佳平台。磁州枕的花鳥畫風皆
counterpoise to each other, similar to the way in which they appear on both 體現了寫意舒展的書家筆法，與宮廷畫院的工筆意趣大相逕
sides of the current porcelain flask. 庭，但與文人的意筆卻一脈相承。此外，磁州枕的紋飾多為
白地黑彩（偶爾飾白地褐彩 )，這與濃墨重彩的宮廷畫風亦
On Song dynasty ceramics the finest bird and flower painting was
undoubtedly to be seen on pillows from the Cizhou kilns, especially those
from 東艾口 Dong’aikou kiln at Guantai, those made in 禹縣 Yuxian, and
those made at 鶴壁集 Hebiji, in 湯陰 Tangyin. While these pillows were
made in a wide variety of shapes, including those formed as tigers and
children, the top surface was always wide and flat, and as such, provided
an ideal canvas on which a skilled artist could paint birds and flowers – or
indeed any other subject. The bird and flower groups painted on Cizhou
pillows were invariably created using a free, calligraphic style, resembling
the 意筆 yibi style preferred by the literati, as opposed to the 工筆 gongbi
style associated with the court. The fact that the Cizhou pillow paintings
were executed in monochrome black on white (with only an occasional
use of amber brown) also contrasted with the colourful court style, and
was closer to ink painting of the literati.

In the Yuan dynasty the political situation affected the literati painters,
who, in many cases, were either not offered positions at the Mongol
court or refused to accept them, preferring to withdraw from court life
and concentrate on scholarly pursuits. In some cases a change of style

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