Page 74 - March 17, 2020 Impotant Chinese Art, Sotheby's, New York

Gold and silver working was nothing new in the Tang dynasty, 得以在中國推廣，其紋飾通常雖看似鏨成，
but the craft was revived and invigorated through the influx of 實則是由連續擊打而成的短道組成連貫線條。
wares from Central and Western Asia via the Silk Road in the
centuries before. Sassanian (224 – 651) gold and silversmiths 本品器形華美，紋飾富麗而鎏金厚重，屬大
working in Iran were renowned for their thin-walled beaten
utensils of precious metals, in particular their parcel-gilt silver 唐銀器經典，珍稀無比，同時亦有諸多獨特
wares, which use the juxtaposition of the two metals to strik- 之處。其內作局部鎏金，以突出紋飾效果， 而
ing effect. It was probably such wares imported by foreign 外則通體鎏金，尤為罕見。因其外壁鎏金瑰麗，
merchants, which introduced this technique that until then 連及底部與盌足，故可推斷，內壁未施全金
had hardly been employed in China. The way the designs are 乃為故意營造金銀輝映之美，而絕非惜材所
created also follows an Iranian method. The outlines of the 致。
motifs are not, as may seem the case, engraved, but created
through impressions, in the same way as the ring-punched
background, in this case by a continuous series of punches in 本盌作花式，每瓣立體呈現，整體線條優美
form of short linear strokes. 流暢，極具大唐風範。同期陶瓷藝匠亦曾仿
效此類器形。本盌之花形獨見四瓣而非五或
With its exquisite shape, lavish decoration and rich gilding, the 六瓣，此類多被認作為海棠式，而盌足則如
present silver bowl stands firmly in the tradition of the best 蓮葉式，葉尖微曲，異常罕見。
Tang silverwares, yet it is in many ways unique. It is extremely
rare in being fully gilded on the outside, for example, rather
than only to high-light the designs, as on the inside. That 初看之下，盌心及盌壁外側紋飾抽象，難以
leaving part of the silver exposed was a deliberate decora- 辨認是何種花卉，而細看則可見藝匠所留下
tive choice to make use of the attractive gold-silver contrast, 的線索。外側花朵多瓣盛放，或單或雙，部
rather than a matter of economy, is convincingly documented 份花心帶蕊，部份可見種莢。觀察種莢及大
by the fact that the outside was so lavishly gilded that even 塊折葉可知，儘管花卉刻劃寫意，藝匠所描
the underside of the base and foot were included.
繪的應為蓮花無疑。
The shape, carefully beaten in proper flower form with lobed
petal tips as well as a shaped foot, rather than merely as an
indented circular bowl, is a distinctive Tang introduction,
which was of course much copied by contemporary potters.
The present bowl is unusual, however, in being four-petalled
rather than five- or six-lobed, a form often identified as bego-
nia-shaped, and extremely rare in showing a foot conceived
like a lotus leaf with curled-up tips.
The lush floral designs in the center and around the outside at
first glance look so highly stylized that the flowers may seem
unidentifiable, but a closer look reveals that the artisan has
given us distinct clues. On the outside, we see fully opened
flowers with many petals, some single, some double, some
still showing stamens in the center, while on others the pistils
are already transforming into seed pods. These seed pods
together with the large folded leaves leave no doubt that it is
lotus flowers, the artist had in mind, even if the blooms are
depicted with some degree of artistic license.
The flowers cascading down from the rim in between, at the
four indents, are, however, distinctly different. They show
the same detailing as the design in the center of the bowl
and around the inside rim. In the center, we see a wide open
flower flanked by fan-like leaves together with a still closed
flower reminiscent of a peacock tail or that of the Buddhist

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