Page 20 - Thornton Collection Chiense Ceramics HK Nov 2017

2803 Continued fig. 1 Xing zhi of Zhou Dynasty, after Xiqing Gujian,

Developed during the Kangxi period, the soft, gentle clair-de-lune ‘Inspection of Antiquities’
glaze is one of the most admired Qing glazes, and was reserved 圖一 《西清古鑑》周邢觶著錄
exclusively for Imperial porcelains.

The form of the current vases is remarkably rare, and was likely to
have been modelled after an archaic bronze in the Qing Imperial
court collection, such as the example published in the Xiqing Gujian,
‘Inspection of Antiques from the Zhou Dynasty’ (fig. 1). The form
first appeared in porcelain during the Yongzheng reign, see for
example, a pair of Yongzheng-marked clair-de-lune glazed vases of
the same form and comparable height (17.5 cm.) in an Asian private
collection, exhibited at Christie’s Shanghai, November 2014, see
Catalogue, pp. 50-51, no. 11. Compare, also, a pair of Qianlong-
marked vases of the same form from the J. Insley Blair collection,
sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 28 November 2012, lot 2115, which
are covered with a pale celadon glaze (fig. 2).

天藍釉是康熙朝景德鎮御窯廠創燒的一種高溫釉色，因其釉色
淡素清澈，有若碧空如洗，故名。自雍正朝以降，天藍釉色又
分深淺兩種，深色若晴空，淺色如霽月，此對即屬後者。

此對花插造型十分罕見，系仿青銅器而作，原形可能為清宮舊
藏著錄於《西清古鑒》的周邢觶（圖一）。本花插的兩道弦紋
和回紋，甚有原器韻味，但淡雅的天藍釉更添俊朗。此種器型
始見於雍正朝，參考一亞洲私人珍藏中的一對雍正款天藍釉花
插，其於2014年11月在上海佳士得展覽，可參見其展覽錄圖版
11號。另參考美國貝萊爾舊藏一對乾隆款粉青釉花插，於2012
年11月28日香港佳士得拍賣，拍品2115號（圖二）。

fig. 2 A pair of Qianlong-marked celadon-glazed zhi from the
Collection of J. Insley Blair, sold at Christie’s Hong Kong,
28 November 2012, lot 2115
圖二 貝萊爾舊藏清乾隆粉青釉觶式花插一對
香港佳士得 2012 年 11 月 28 日 拍品 2115 號

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