Page 50 - Important Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art, Hong Kong

3132

A RARE LONGQUAN CELADON TRIPOD CENSER

SOUTHERN SONG-YUAN DYNASTY (1127-1368)

The compressed body is moulded with three narrow flanges each above a slightly splayed, conical
leg with animal mask, surmounted by a cylindrical neck rising to the flat, everted rim. The censer is
covered overall with a soft green glaze of even tone ending at the bottom of the legs to expose the pale
grey ware.

5 ¿ in. (13 cm.) diam., box, silver cover

HK$500,000-800,000 US$65,000-100,000

PROVENANCE
Sold at Sotheby’s London, 3 December 1983, lot 215

LITERATURE
Tan Dan-jiong, History of Chinese Ceramics, vol. 2, Taipei, 1985, p. 503

The form of the current censer is closely modelled after archaic bronze li of the Shang and Zhou
periods. This transfer of form between mediums reflected a trend of antiquarianism popular during
the Southern Song dynasty. The present censer, however, has additional moulded taotie masks on
the feet, which is rarely found on Longquan wares of this period, but more commonly seen during
the Ming dynasty, as exemplified by two Longquan basins illustrated in Longquan Ware: Chinese
Celadon Beloved of the Japanese, 2012, p. 93, nos. 108 & 109. For a Southern Song Longquan tripod
censer of very similar form and proportion but of larger size (20 cm. diam.), see an example in
the Idemitsu Museum of Arts, Tokyo, illustrated in ibid., p. 47, no. 38. Compare also a similar
Longquan tripod censer sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 4 October 2016, lot 119.

南宋/元 龍泉青釉鬲式爐

來源
倫敦蘇富比，1983年12月3日，拍品215號

著錄
譚旦冏，《中國陶瓷史》，下冊，台北，1985年，503頁

鬲式爐是南宋龍泉窯的經典器形，然而如本件鬲式爐這樣在足上加飾獸面紋的則極為罕見。這一裝飾
手法開創了明代龍泉窯運用獸面足的先河，參見兩件明龍泉青釉獸足鼓釘洗，載於《龍泉窯青磁展 :
日本人の愛した中国陶磁》，2012年，93頁，編號108及109。南宋龍泉窯鬲爐取材於商周青銅器鬲
的器形，反映了當時文人士大夫崇古復古的風氣。前揭書亦載有一件與本件鬲爐器形相近，尺寸稍大
（口徑20公分）的南宋龍泉窯鬲式爐，見該書47頁，編號38。亦可比一件南宋龍泉鬲爐，2016年10
月4日在香港佳士得拍賣，拍品編號119。

48