Page 72 - Lunyushanren Col II

This superb celadon vase exemplifes the fnest Longquan celadon wares, 瓶盤口，長頸，折肩，直筒腹，淺圈足。內外施青釉，胎骨稍厚。頸部兩
which have been revered both in China and Japan for more than seven 側置鳳耳。
hundred years. At its fnest, as on the current vase, Longquan celadon
glaze is thick, translucent, and has a rich texture reminiscent of jade. 此器形制因似造紙打漿所用槌具，亦稱紙槌瓶，為宋代常見的瓶形，而於
The glaze on the current vase also displays the ideal soft bluish-green 瓶頸兩側附貼雙耳，則為南宋龍泉窯所特有，見鳳耳及魚耳兩種。除了清
color that was so diffcult for potters to achieve, but has always been 宮舊藏數例，此造型亦深受日本藏家所青睞，稱之為砧形瓶。東京根津美
greatly admired by connoisseurs. This particularly fne glaze type is often 術館2010年舉辦《南宋の青磁》展覽中，曾展出多件日本知名收藏的龍泉
known by the Japanese name kinuta, which in fact is the term for a 鳳耳或魚耳瓶，見展覽圖錄17-25號。其中一件藏於京都常盤山文庫的例
mallet, and refers to mallet-shaped vases such as the current example that 子與此器甚為相似，高度亦相仿（高 27.5 公分），見圖版20號。
were imported into Japan in the Southern Song (1127-1279) and Yuan
(1279-1368) dynasties, and became associated with this, the most
desired glaze color.

It has also been suggested by several scholars that this shape, despite
resembling a paper mallet, may in fact have been introduced to China as a
glass vase or bottle from the Islamic west, possibly Iran. Fragments of glass
vessels of this shape were found in 1997 among the material from the
cargo of the Intan shipwreck excavated off the Indonesian coast. This ship
is believed to date to the Northern Song period.

The majority of kinuta vases, however, were made with two distinctive
handles, either in the form of phoenixes, as in the case of the current
vase, or in the form of fsh, as exemplifed by another vase in the Beijing
Palace Museum illustrated in Porcelain of the Song Dynasty (II), The
Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, bid., p. 110, no. 98.

Longquan vases of this mallet shape have also been preserved in Japanese
collections, and some have been bestowed particularly high status by
the Japanese authorities. A number of these vases were included in
the exhibition Heavenly Blue: Southern Song Celadons held at the Nezu
Museum, Tokyo, 2010, and are illustrated in the exhibition catalogue,
pp. 46-53, no. 17 (Yomei Bunko, Kyoto), no. 18 (Kuboso Memorial
Museum of Arts, Izumi), no. 19 (Hakutsuru fne Art Museum, Kobe),
no. 20 (Tokiwayama Bunko, Tokyo), no. 21 (Nezu Museum, Tokyo),
no. 22 (Museum of Oriental Ceramics, Osaka), no. 23 (The Tokugawa
Art Museum, Nagoya), no. 24 (unknown private collection), and no. 25
(Seikado Bunko Art Museum, Tokyo). In terms of glaze, size and form,
the Tokiwayama Bunko vase is the most similar to the current vase. The
Yomei Bunko vase, known as Sensei (One Thousand Cries), as well as the
vase in the Museum of Oriental Ceramics have both been designated as
Important Cultural Property, while the Kuboso Museum vase, known
as Bansei (Ten Thousand Cries), has been designated as a Japanese
National Treasure.

The Classic Age of Chinese Ceramics 古韻天成 — 臨宇山人珍藏（二） 70