Page 176 - Important Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art, Hong Kong

THE PROPERTY OF AN ASIAN COLLECTOR 清乾隆 楊季初作宜興紫泥堆繪二甲傳臚筆筒

3346 底款：楊季初

A VERY RARE YIXING SLIP-DECORATED ‘CRAB’ 此筆筒以泥漿堆繪兩只蟹盤踞於溪澗間，沿岸蘆葦叢生，流水瀝瀝，畫
BRUSH POT 意恬靜而盎然，螃蟹的堆砌細緻寫實，富有生氣，充滿文人意趣，令人
聯想起明代畫家徐渭常繪的秋蟹圖。螃蟹有甲殼，蘆葦諧音「臚」，故
SIGNED YANG JICHU, QIANLONG PERIOD (1736-1795) 兩只螃蟹加上蘆葦，有「二甲傳臚」之寓意。《明史·選舉志》記：「會
試第一位會元，二甲第一為傳臚」。二甲傳臚亦即是祝願對方在科舉考
The brush pot is finely decorated in various colours of slip in 試內金榜題名，螃蟹與蘆葦遂成為中國藝術中受人喜愛的吉祥紋飾。
imitation of ink painting depicting two crabs on a rocky river bank
lined with reeds, between which a small stream flows down from 本筆筒上印「楊季初」方款。楊季初，清雍正、乾隆時宜興名家，精通
a gently-steeped gorge, all against a dark purplish-brown ground. 泥繪。清人唐仲冕於《重刊荊溪縣志》（清光緒刻本）卷四中記：「楊
A maker’s seal, Yang Jichu, is stamped in relief on the countersunk 季初，菱花壺甚工，與陳漢文同時。」存世有少數楊季初作的宜興筆筒，
base. 但多堆繪山水人物圖。本筆筒上的紋飾在同類器中極為少見，且風格寫
6 ¿ in. (15.6 cm.) diam., box 意簡樸，巧妙表現出文人畫神韻，實屬珍罕難得。

HK$2,600,000-4,000,000 US$340,000-520,000 另可參考數件楊季初作筆筒，均繪山水圖紋飾，包括一件 2016 年 6 月 1
日於香港佳士得拍賣，拍品 3374 號；另一件藏北京故宮博物院藏，見
This exquisite brush pot displays superb artistry which resonates 2008 年上海出版《故宮博物院藏文物珍藏大系 - 紫砂器》，圖版 116 號。
well with literati paintings characterised by brisk, seemingly careless 故宮另藏一件楊季初款堆泥彩繪筆筒，題材為梅軒晤陽圖，見前揭書，
brushstrokes and simple composition. In fact, it may evoke the memory 圖版 115 號；及一件風格相似但印「大清乾隆年製」款的例子，圖版
of paintings by the Ming dynasty painter Xu Wei, well-known for his 113 號。另外可參考兩件印楊季初款的宜興彩繪筆筒，第一件為 Robert H.
works on crabs. The combination of two crabs and reeds conveys Blumenfield 舊藏，2012 年 3 月 22 日於紐約佳士得拍賣，拍品 1246 號；
the auspicious message of ‘May you pass high on the civil service 另一件為好善簃藏，2011 年 11 月 28 日於香港邦瀚斯拍賣，拍品 208 號。
examination’. The formidable crab shell can be associated with
armour, which reads as jia in Chinese. Jia also has another meaning
denoting ‘first place’. Two crabs, together, forms the pun erjia, which
stands for the second class of successful candidates in the civil
service examination. The reed is a pun for chuanlu, referring to the
announcement of the winner amongst this second class of successful
candidates. Hence the motifs on the current brush pot deliver the well-
intended wish of scoring high in the examination.

The artist of this brush pot, Yang Jichu, is recorded in Chongkan
jingxi xianzhi (The Republished Jingxi Gazetteer), compiled by Tang
Zhongmian during the Qing dynasty. Yang is noted as being active
during the same period as Chen Hanwen, mid 17th-early 18th Century.
Like Chen Hanwen, Yang Jichu is famous for his work on Yixing
wares, especially those, like the current brush pot, which are painted
in coloured slips. However most surviving Yang Jichu brush pots are
decorated with landscape motifs. The design on the current brush pot
is extremely rare, and attests to the versatility and depth of Yang Jichu’s
artistic talent.

Compare to several Yixing brush pots by Yang Jichu decorated with
landscapes, including an exceptional example sold at Christie’s
Hong Kong, 1 June 2016, lot 3374; and two in the Palace Museum,
Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the
Palace Museum - Purple Sandy Ware, Beijing, 2008, nos. 115 and 116.
Interestingly, the Beijing Palace Museum also has a brush pot painted
in similar style with a scholar seated in a thatch-roofed pavilion
overlooking a lake beside a willow tree which bears a Qianlong mark,
illustrated ibid., no. 113. Compare also to two other brush pots decorated
in similar technique with Yang Jichu seals, one formerly in the Robert H.
Blumenfield Collection, sold at Christie’s New York, 22 March 2012, lot
1246; the other from the Mr. and Mrs. Gerard Hawthorn Collection, sold
at Bonhams Hong Kong, 28 November 2011, lot 208.

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