Page 16 - Lunyushanren Col II

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五 A RARE CARVED AND MOLDED YUE 五代/北宋 越窯青釉刻蓮紋鴛鴦鈕圓盒
代 ‘MANDARIN DUCKS’ BOX AND COVER
ruler of Wu-Yue submitted to the Song in AD 978 he offered the
/ FIVE DYNASTIES-NORTHERN SONG DYNASTY (907-1127) emperor at Kaifeng 50,000 pieces of mise (secret color) Yue ware,
150 of which were ftted with gold or silver-gilt bands. Indeed it
北 has been estimated that some 170,000 pieces of tribute Yue ware
are recorded for the frst three decades of the Northern Song period
宋 (i.e. AD 960-990). In addition, fne Yue wares have been found in
a number of Tang, Five Dynasties and Song royal and aristocratic
The domed cover is carved in high relief with a band of overlapping tombs, most notably those of the royal house of the Kingdom of
Wu-Yue and the tomb of the Song dynasty Empress Li, wife of the
越 lotus petals, surmounted by a fnial molded in the shape of two Emperor Zhenzong. The empress’s tomb, located at Gongxian in
ducks, each resting its head on the other’s shoulder. The box is Henan province, is dated to AD 1000.

州 similarly carved with overlapping lotus petals, and supported on a Yue celadon wares helped establish a taste for subtle celadon glazes at
splayed foot. The box and cover are covered with a slightly matte the imperial court in the north. It is therefore not surprising that the
窯 glaze of olive-green tone with a yellowish tinge with the exception most famous Northern Song dynasty celadon of all, Ru ware, was
strongly infuenced by Yue ware.
of the rims and some parts of the base.
來源
青 4 in. (10.1 cm.) high, Japanese wood box 千秋庭，東京。
磁
展覽
刻 $30,000-50,000 £23,000-38,000 東京國立博物舘，《特別展中國の陶磁》，1994年10月12日至11月
花 HK$240,000-390,000 23日。
千秋庭，東京，《創立10周年記念展覽會》，2006年。
蓮 PROVENANCE 佳士得，《古韻天成：臨宇山人宋瓷珍藏展覽》，香港，2012年11
文 Sen Shu Tey, Tokyo. 月22至27日；紐約，2013年3月15至20日；倫敦，2013年5月10
至14日。
鴛 EXHIBITED
The Tokyo National Museum, Special Exhibition Chinese Ceramics, 著錄
鴦 Tokyo, 12 October-23 November 1994. 東京國立博物舘，《特別展中國の陶磁》，東京，1994年，93頁，
編號129。
鈕 Sen Shu Tey, The Collection of Chinese Art – Special Exhibition ‘Run 千秋庭，《中國美術蒐集》，東京，2006年，56頁，編號65。
Through 10 Years’, Tokyo, 2006. 佳士得，《古韻天成：臨宇山人宋瓷珍藏展覽》，香港，2012
合 Christie’s, The Classical Age of Chinese Ceramics: An Exhibition of 年，20-21頁，編號1。

子 Song Treasures from the Linyushanren Collection, Hong Kong, 雖然青瓷在唐、宋時期最為著名，但遠在此以前中國已經燒造青
釉。早在商代就出現了高溫燒製的石灰青釉器，這種原始青瓷是同
22 to 27 November 2012; New York, 15 to 20 March 2013; 類的先驅者。至三世紀時浙江開始燒製青釉粗瓷，續燒至明代。唐
至五代則是越窯發展的鼎盛時期。
London, 10 to 14 May 2013.
唐、五代及北宋時期越窯青瓷的盛行，幾個世紀以來一直對中國南
LITERATURE 北方及其他國家的青瓷生產影響深遠。唐代浙江省有多處越窯產
Tokyo National Museum, Special Exhibition Chinese Ceramics, 區，余姚縣上林湖窯為主要窯場。唐代越窯青瓷造型優雅，釉質腴
Tokyo, 1994, p. 93, no. 129. 潤如玉，是中國最早的瓷器瑰寶，不再視為珍貴材質的代替品，備
Sen Shu Tey, Tokyo, The Collection of Chinese Art – Special Exhibition 受文人墨客推崇。陸羽在其名著《茶經》中論越窯青瓷為最佳茶
‘Run Through 10 Years’, Tokyo, 2006, p. 56, no. 65. 盌。
Christie’s, The Classic Age of Chinese Ceramics: An Exhibition of Song
Treasures from the Linyushanren Collection, Hong Kong, 2012, 越窯青瓷是中國瓷器發展的最高成就，不但聞名中外，更加得到
pp. 20-21, no. 1. 唐、宋統治者的青睞，成為貢器。估計共有十七萬件越窯青瓷在北
宋最初三十年間進貢朝廷（960-990年）。據《宋史》及
This exquisite box is exceptional not only for the bold lotus-petal 《宋會要》記載，978年吳越國主錢氏向宋王朝貢奉秘色越窯瓷器
design and fne quality of the carving but also for the extraordinarily 五萬件，其中一百五十件配金、銀扣。南方的越窯青瓷把淨雅的青
rare three-dimensional ducks adorning the cover. The combination 釉品味帶進北方朝廷，甚至北宋青瓷之首汝瓷亦深受越窯影響。
of decorative motifs would have made this box a perfect wedding
gift. The two ducks are symbolic of marital felicity, while the lotus
provides a rebus for harmony as well as a reference to purity and
feminine beauty. The seedpods depicted on the fat top below the
ducks also provide a reference to the wish for progeny.

Confronted birds, particularly ducks, was a popular subject in the
decorative arts of the Tang and Song dynasties and can be seen on
ceramics, silver and textiles. It is rare, however, for their necks of
the ducks to be entwined, as seen on the present box. A similar
depiction of ducks with entwined necks can be found carved on
the cover of a Yue box from the collection of Robert E. Barron III,
M.D, sold at Christie’s New York, 30 March 2005, lot 265.

The fne celadon-glazed stonewares produced at the Yue kilns in
Zhejiang province were so admired at the Northern Song court,
that, according to the Song shi (Song history) and the Song hui yao
(Collected source material on the Song dynasty), when Qianshi the

The Classic Age of Chinese Ceramics 古韻天成 — 臨宇山人珍藏（二） 14