Page 75 - March 17, 2020 Impotant Chinese Art, Sotheby's, New York

Line drawings of the current lot Illustrated in Bo Gyllensvärd, ‘T’ang Gold and Silver’, Bulletin of the Museum of Far Eastern
Antiquities, Stockholm, 1957, figs 85d and 96h.
本拍品紋飾線描圖 著錄於喜龍仁，〈 T’ang Gold and Silver〉，《Bulletin of the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities》，
斯德哥爾摩，1957年，圖 85d及96h
kalavinka on some Tang silverwares. Here, the artist also gave 而在每朵蓮花之間可見另一種花卉，由盌口
a hint for the identification: the center of the open flower is 垂散而下，與盌心及盌內口沿紋飾細節相近。
here also developing into a fruit, in this case a pomegranate. 盌心見作一朵大花盛放，花外扇形葉紋圍繞，
While the lotus had become a prime decorative motif with the
introduction of Buddhism, the pomegranate was at the time 並飾一花苞，宛如孔雀尾羽，亦如佛教迦陵
probably still an exotic fruit associated with Persia, whose 頻伽，後者可見於同期銀器之上。此處藝匠
cultivation especially in north China was not yet secured. 亦留予線索：盌心之花果實初萌，乃為石榴。
蓮花自佛教傳入中國後成為佛教中常見紋飾
Parcel-gilt silver vessels decorated in a related style, with
stylized flowers with opulent blooms high-lighted in gilding, 題材，而石榴在當時則屬波斯異果，尚未於
but in repoussé and often in combination with animals, birds 中國北方成功種植。
or fish in the center, began to appear in the 8th century and
have been discovered, for example at the former Daminggong 相近風格飾以華麗抽象花紋並配鎏金、且盌
palace site near Xi’an and in hoard finds in the Liaoning/Inner 心以鏨花技術飾鳥獸魚紋的同類局部鎏金銀
Mongolia region, and are preserved in the Shōsō-in, the store- 器始見於八世紀，曾出土自西安大明宮遺址，
house at the Tōdai-ji, Nara, Japan, preserving belongings of 以及遼寧、內蒙區域，亦有作例原為日本聖
Emperor Shōmu (r. 724 – 749) (see Han & Deydier 2001, pls
305, 313, 318-321; and Shōsō-in no hōmotsu, Tokyo, 1989, pl. 武天皇（724–749 年在位）御藏，現存於奈
113). A few related motifs without repoussé can also be seen 良東大寺正倉院（參考韓偉及戴克成， 2001年，
among the Hejiacun hoard, the gold and silver treasure of 圖版 305、313、318-321；《正倉院の寶物》,
Prince Bin, cousin of the Xuanzong Emperor, that was buried 東京 , 1989, pl. 113）。另比數例，紋飾相近，
near Xi’an, probably as the imperial family fled the An Lushan 但無鏨花，出土於何家村窖藏。此窖藏或為
rebellion in 755 (e.g. Han & Deydier 2001, pl. 386).
邠王府中之物，因公元 755 年安史之亂所埋
These rich gilded flower designs on a silver ground reached （例見韓偉及戴克成，2001 年，圖版 386）。
their baroque maturity, however, only somewhat later, in the
9th century. The famous group of five-lobed silver bowls, 此類銀地鎏金花卉紋飾成熟並盛於九世紀晚
with and without covers, reputedly found in 1930 in Balin in 期。比較一組著名五瓣銀盌例，見無蓋及連
the Eastern Mongolia/Liaoning region, and today dispersed 蓋兩類，據傳 1930 年出土於內蒙古東部近
over several Western collections, is decorated in a very similar
style with floral designs only, but without ring-matting in the 遼寧的巴林地區，現時散落於數個西方收
background. A covered bowl from this group, formerly in the 藏，紋飾風格極近，然僅飾花卉，無魚子紋
Carl Kempe Collection (Gyllensvärd 1953, pl. 115) and sold in 地。 其中一例曾屬卡爾坎普收藏（喜龍仁，
our London rooms, 14th May 2008, lot 64, for example, shows
146 SOTHEBY’S COMPLETE CATALOGUING AVAILABLE AT SOTHEBYS.COM/N10644
Fig. 1a-c Line drawings of a silver bowl, Tang Dynasty, formerly in the Carl Kempe Collection. Illustrated in Bo Gyllensvärd,
‘T’ang Gold and Silver’, Bulletin of the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, Stockholm, 1957, figs 85c and 96a and i.
圖一a-c 唐銀盌紋飾線描圖 著錄於喜龍仁，〈 T’ang Gold and Silver〉，《Bulletin of the Museum of Far Eastern
Antiquities》，斯德哥爾摩，1957年，圖 85c及96a及i
lotus and pomegranate designs very similar to those on the 1953 年，圖版 115），連蓋，售於倫敦蘇富
present bowl, although the pomegranate motifs even include 比 2008 年 5 月 14 日，編號 64，其蓮紋及
small fruits (see line drawings in Gyllensvärd 1957, figs 85c
and 96a and i) (fig. 1a-c). 石榴紋飾與本品非常相近，唯石榴紋並帶小
果（見線描圖， 喜龍仁，1957 年，圖 85c 及
The Balin bowls are generally thought to date from the late 96a 及 i）（圖一 a-c）。
8th or early 9th century. Han (1989) attributes them to a
group III and the present bowl a group IV of Tang gold and 一般認為，此組作例製於八世紀晚期或九世
silver wares, which he settles on either side of an 820/21 紀初期。韓偉（1989 年）曾定義上述組例為
divide. This, therefore, should be close to the actual dating
of our bowl. He places in the same group IV a circular bowl in 唐代金銀器之第三組，本盌則屬第四組，斷
the Yamato Bunkakan, Nara, with a continuous floral design 代公元 820/21 年左右，故本品年代應近於此。
of related style (illustrated in a line drawing, Han 1989, fig. 韓偉認為第四組並包括一盌例，現藏於奈良
147); and a silver-gilt bowl cover and a quatrefoil dish from a 大和文華館，花卉紋飾風格相近（圖見於一
hoard at Yangjiagou, Lantian, Shaanxi (Han 1989, figs 153 and 線描圖，韓偉，1989 年，圖 147）； 另可比較
167), which also included a parcel-gilt silver box dated in ac-
cordance with 866 (the dish also illustrated in Han & Deydier 一盌蓋及盤兩作例， 出土於陝西藍田縣楊家
2001, pl. 397). 溝（韓偉，1989 年，圖 153 及 167），及一局
部鎏金銀盒例，斷代公元 866 年（盤亦載於
Gyllensvärd (1957, figs 95 s, t and x) also publishes line draw- 韓偉及戴克成，2001 年，圖版 397）。
ings of flower scrolls engraved in stone, ranging in date from
780 to 841, showing a similar treatment of the pomegran- 喜龍仁（1957 年，圖 95 s、t 及 x）並載數幅
ate motif. The gold and silver vessels donated to the Famen
Temple in Fufeng county, Shaanxi, prior to 874, however, are 石刻纏枝花卉紋飾線描圖，斷代公元 780 至
already quite different in style, with only a vague echo of these 841 年之間，與本盌石榴紋飾處理手法相近。
earlier flower designs still noticeable on some vessels (e.g. 而另見一批於公元 874 年之前捐贈予陝西扶
Han and Deydier 2001, pls 649 and 670). 風縣法門寺的金銀器，其風格已經截然不同，
雖然在部份作例之上仍可大體辨認，但與早
Close comparisons to the present bowl as a whole are, how-
ever, difficult to find. The closest perhaps is a parcel-gilt silver 前之花卉紋飾呼應甚微（例見韓偉及戴克成，
bowl of circular shape, now in the Uldry collection, which is 2001 年，圖版 649 及 670）。
decorated with a continuous design of related flowers and
some butterflies on the outside and striations on the foot 整體而言，與本品相近之作例少之又少，最
evoking a leaf shape, all fully covered in gilding, a repoussé 接近者，或為一件銀局部鎏金盌例，現藏於
147