Page 252 - Christies King St. FINE CHINESE CERAMICS AND WORKS OF ART

The exceptional quality of the painting seen on this magnifcent vase 瓶撇口， 細頸， 垂腹， 圈足， 造型端莊流麗， 通體
showcases the advanced technical innovations in porcelain production 黃地軋道並細膩的描繪番蓮、銀蓮、牽牛花、忍冬、蝴
achieved by the imperial kilns at Jingdezhen during the Qianlong reign (1736- 蝶花、桃花、水仙、石榴花、百合及薔薇等四季花卉，
1795), under the supervision of the famous ceramicist Tang Ying (1682-1756). 嬌巧多姿， 細緻繽紛， 隙地滿施黃彩錐剔鳳尾形卷草
The bright lemon-yellow ground of this vase provides a great richness and 紋， 精雕細琢， 一絲不苟， 肩上添藍彩細錐鳳尾形卷
clarity that highlights the other enamel colours, including shades of pink, 草紋地折技蓮紋一道，下垂紅彩如意雲頭紋， 口沿飾紅
purple, orange and green, to their best advantage. It appears that yellow- 地卷草花紋，足環繪層疊蓮瓣。口、肩、足加綴金邊，
ground vessels found particular favour at the Qing court of the 18th century, 更顯華貴。內頸與底均施湖綠釉，底心署礬紅「乾隆年
which continued through to the 19th century. Compare the present vase to 製」四字篆書方框款。
other imperial yellow-ground vessels produced at the time, such as a yellow-
ground mallet-shaped yangcai vase painted with a ‘double-lotus’ design in 「圓琢白器，五彩繪畫，摹仿西洋，故曰洋彩」， 洋彩
the National Palace Museum in Taipei, included in the exhibition Stunning 屬清宮中極為珍罕的瓷器類別，極盡製作之能事， 不惜
Decorative Porcelains from the Ch’ien-lung Reign, National Palace Museum, 工本精益求精， 因此深受乾隆帝青睞， 由其欽定， 配
Taipei, 2008, no. 28; and a Qianlong mark and period Beijing enamel jarlet, 座， 評列等級， 大多珍藏於乾清宮端凝殿與養心殿，
also in the National Palace Museum in Taipei, illustrated in Enamel Ware in the 供其幾暇賞玩 。此瓶上花卉紋飾借鑒了西方繪畫中的明
Ming and Ch’ing Dynasties, Taipei, 1999, pl. 109. Furthermore, see a similarly 暗法， 以白料渲染出花卉的濃淡層次及枝葉的光影錯
fnely enamelled double-gourd vase from the collections of Lord Loch of 落， 設色妍麗； 構圖更是應用了西洋花草藤蔓紋飾的
Drylaw, Alfred Morrison, John Morrison, Lord Margadale of Islay and J.T. Tai 圖案設計， 華貴絢麗. 參考一件乾隆北京畫琺瑯小罐，
was sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 7 October 2010, lot 2126. 載於1999年台北國立故宮出版《明清琺瑯器展覽目錄》，
圖版第109號 。一件相近黃地添花紙槌瓶，曾於台北國
According to the porcelain inventory of the Qing imperial court archives 立故宮博物院2008年策辦的「華麗彩瓷：乾隆洋彩」展
dated to the 8th day of the 2nd month of the 16th year of the Qianlong reign, 出，收錄於展覽目錄28號。展覽中亦展出一對磁胎洋彩
corresponding to 1751, a pair of yangcai yuhuchun vases decorated with the jin 翠地錦上添花玉環膽瓶，圖錄圖版第41號。另， 見一
shang tian hua design were produced and delivered to the imperial court. The 件相似胡蘆瓶來自Lord Loch of Drylaw， Alfred Morrison，
auspicious idiom jin shang tian hua, which may be literally translated as ‘adding John Morrison， Lord Margadale of Islay 及戴潤齋珍舊
fowers to the brocade’, refers to the act of further perfecting something 藏，2010年10月7日於蘇富比拍賣，拍品第2126號。
which is already beautiful. The sgrafiato design used on porcelain vessels is
called the jin ground in Chinese, 錦, hence the design of fowers set against a 據清宮檔案記錄，一對「洋彩錦上花玉壺春瓶」於1751
sgrafiato ground are aptly named as jin shang tian hua 錦上添花. The current 年納入內庭， 此瓶極有可能為僅存的一對洋彩錦上花壺
yuhuhun vase, with its jin shang tian hua design, fts the description of the pair 春瓶中之一， 另一相似例子於2014年10月8日香港蘇富
of vases documented in the palace record. One yellow-ground yuhuchun vase 比拍賣，拍品第3639號。
previously in a private American collection has an identical shape and design
to the present lot, and was sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 8 October 2014, lot 此拍品無論紋飾器形均別出心裁，巧奪天工， 中西合
3639. It is possible that the current vase and the one sold at Sotheby’s are the 璧， 實為瓷中精美絕世極品， 充分體現出乾隆盛世宮
pair of recorded yangcai jin shang tian hua vases, as no other extant examples 庭造瓷工藝之卓越高超。
appear to have been published.

Porcelain inventory of the Qing imperial court archives, dated to the 8th day of
the 2nd month of the 16th year of the Qianlong reign, corresponding to 1751,
published in Qing gong ciqi dang’an quanji – The complete collection of Qing
dynasty imperial palace records for porcelain, vol. 3, Beijing, 2008, p. 388.

Offcial record of the delivery of a pair of yangcai sgraffato yuhuchun vases to the imperial
palace, Qing dynasty, Qianlong period, dated to 1751 (illustrated in Qing gong ciqi dang’an
quanji, vol. 3, Beijing, 2008, p. 388)
清乾隆十六年 管理九江關務惠色恭進洋彩錦上花玉壺春壹對記錄(載2008年北京出版《清宮
瓷器檔案全集》，卷3，頁388)

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