Page 56 - Chinese Art From Two American Collections, April 5, 2017 Hong Kong

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A FINE AND VERY RARE YELLOW-
GLAZED CUP
MARK AND PERIOD OF JIAJING
finely and delicately potted with a bell-shaped
body with deep rounded sides rising steeply
and flaring at the rim, all supported on a slightly
tapered foot, evenly applied overall with a
translucent pale yellow glaze, including the base,
draining at the rim and pooling to a warm egg-
yolk tone around the foot, the base inscribed in
underglaze blue with a six-character reign mark
within a circle
8.2 cm, 3¼ in.
PROVENANCE
Collection of Samuel C. Davis (1871-1940), Saint
Louis, Missouri.
Estate of Samuel Davis Weaver (1940-2013).
The Greenwich Collecton, Connecticut, and
thence by descent.
J.J. Lally & Co., New York.
HK$ 2,000,000-3,000,000
US$ 258,000-387,000
明嘉靖 黄釉撇口盃
《大明嘉靖年製》款
來源：
Samuel C. Davis（1871-1940年）收藏，密
蘇里州聖路易斯市
Samuel Davis Weaver（1940-2013年）承產
Greenwich 收藏，康涅狄格，此後家族傳承
J.J. Lally & Co.，紐約
This cup is striking for the luminous tone of its
rich yellow glaze, a colour reserved for wares
for the imperial court, and remarkable for
its fine, delicate potting. Deceptively simple,
monochrome porcelains required extreme
precision in the potting, skill in glazing and firing, cup and a slightly smaller white-glazed example
and light-coloured glazes such as this yellow
depended on the highest level of purity of the
clay. Due to the minimalist nature of such pieces,
where form and glaze work together in perfect
harmony, the slightest irregularity would result in
their rejection and destruction.
Mark
54 SOTHEBY’S 蘇富比
As one of the five colours derived from the 此盃黃釉色澤盈潤。黃釉者，宮廷尊用，尤適
Five Elements (wuxing), yellow surpassed the 小巧精妙之器。淺單色釉器，觀之形簡色單，
other imperial colours of reddish-black (xuan) 實則燒製技巧要求極高，於各類器中屬最難一
and purple (zi) to become the emblem of the 類，須取純土，施精工，胎、釉、火必嫻熟，
emperor. It was thought that the emperor was 佳器方成，如有微瑕，前功盡棄。
located in the centre of the five directions and
the centre was represented by the earth element 黃色屬五行一色，位列宮廷色系之首，優於
and the colour yellow. This ‘imperial yellow’ glaze 赤、玄、紫。黃色為土，五行之土對應中央，
was produced at the imperial kilns in Jingdezhen 與帝居五方之中相附。有明一朝，景德鎮御窰
throughout the Ming dynasty, and was achieved 廠在唐代鉛黃釉之基礎上加以改良，以3.5%
by adding ferric oxide (3.5 %) to the lead silicate 氧化鐵注入原有硅酸鉛釉，延製黃釉器不絕。
base, making this glaze a direct descendant of
the yellow lead glazes of the Tang dynasty.
Cups of this distinctive deep flared shape are a 本品造形屬明嘉靖時期之創新，常見尺寸較
Jiajing innovation and more commonly known 本器略大。大維德爵士舊藏一例，現藏於倫
in slightly larger proportions; for example, see 敦大英博物館，錄於《Illustrated Catalogue
a cup from the Sir Percival David Collection of Ming and Qing Monochrome Wares in the
and now in the British Museum, London, Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art》
included in Illustrated Catalogue of Ming and ，倫敦，1989年，編號A 595。另一例曾為
Qing Monochrome Wares in the Percival David B.Z. Seligman 夫人及 Alfred Aykroyd 爵士遞
Foundation of Chinese Art, London, 1989, no. 藏，先後售於倫敦蘇富比1966年5月15日，編
A 595; one from the collections of Mrs B.Z. 號36，以及倫敦佳士得2004年6月7日，編號
Seligman and Sir Alfred Aykroyd, sold in our 281。Hall 家族收藏一相類盃例，先後售於倫
London rooms, 15th May 1966, lot 36, and 敦蘇富比1966年7月26日，編號68，以及香港
at Christie’s London, 7th June 2004, lot 281; 蘇富比2000年5月2日，編號506。玫茵堂也
another sold in our London rooms, 26th July 收藏一對相類作例，售於香港蘇富比2011年4
1966, lot 68, and in these rooms, 2nd May 2000, 月7日，編號62。還有對例，曾入仇焱之及趙
lot 506 from the Hall Family Collection; and 從衍舊藏，兩度售於香港蘇富比1981年5月19
two pairs sold in these rooms, the first from the 日，編號452，及1986年11月18日，編號68
collections of Edward T. Chow and T.Y. Chao, 。倫敦大英博物館還藏一尺寸相類但器形較淺
19th May 1981, lot 452, and 18th November 1986, 之例，載於霍吉淑《大英博物館藏中國明代陶
lot 68, and the second, from the Meiyintang 瓷》，倫敦，2001年，圖版9:73。
Collection, 7th April 2011, lot 62. Compare also
a cup of similar size but slightly shallower, in the 此類盃亦見施有其他單色釉及飾以青花之
British Museum, London, illustrated in Jessica 例，見 Hall 家族收藏一藍釉盃及一件尺寸較
Harrison-Hall, Ming Ceramics in the British 小之白釉盃，同於2000年5月2日香港蘇富比
Museum, London, 2001, pl. 9:73. 售出，編號分別為510及509。另可參考一對
青花三羊啟泰盃，展於《爐火純青：嘉靖及
Cups of this type are also known covered in 萬曆官窰瓷器》，香港大學美術博物館，香
other monochrome glazes, as well as painted in 港，2009年，編號12。
underglaze blue; see for example a blue-glazed
Samuel C. Davis，1893年畢業於哈佛大學，
from the Hall Family Collection, sold in these 二十世紀初隨盧芹齋收藏中國瓷器。身後家人
rooms, 2nd May 2000, lots 510 and 509; and a 將其中逾二百器中國瓷器惠贈聖路易士藝術博
pair of cups painted with rams in underglaze blue, 物館，另百多件捐予哈佛大學，餘下保留作
included in the exhibition The Fame of Flame. 家族傳承。
Imperial Wares of the Jiajing and Wanli Periods,
Art Gallery, The Chinese University of Hong Kong,
Hong Kong, 2009, cat. no. 12.
Samuel C. Davis graduated from Harvard
University in 1893 and began collecting Chinese
ceramics early in the 20th century, guided by
C.T. Loo. More than 200 selected pieces of
Chinese porcelain from the Samuel C. Davis
Collection were bequeathed to the Saint Louis
Museum of Art, over 100 Chinese ceramics from
the collection were given to Harvard, and many
Chinese porcelains were kept by his family.