撇口，細頸，圓垂腹，圈足。通體繪五組青花紋飾，以雙線相隔。頸飾如意及回紋一匝；肩繪卷枝紋；腹繪纏枝牡丹、梔子、菊花及山茶；近足處腹底飾疊瓣如意紋。青花呈色濃艷，有暈散及點點銀黑色結晶斑，通體內外罩透明釉，微泛青綠色。
1600萬起拍，2000萬後排男士出價，速度慢下來，2100萬Rebecca電話，2200萬網絡出價，2250萬，8035號牌。
2250萬落槌，含佣金2760萬港元。
明永樂 青花四季花卉紋玉壺春瓶
YONGLE PERIOD (1403-1425)
10 in. (25.5 cm.) high.
成交價 港元 27,600,000
估價 港元 18,000,000 – 港元 25,000,000
拍品終止拍賣: 2024年9月26日
來源
倫敦佳士得，1990年12月10日，拍品167號（封面）
展覽
英國皇家藝術學院，《區百齡珍藏百件名瓷展覽》，倫敦，1998年，42號
拍品專文
雅逸珍稀：明永樂青花玉壺春瓶
蘇玫瑰，獨立學者
此明永樂玉壺春瓶形態優雅，盡展元朝瓷藝興起之造型風采，於洪武年間器形上略為改變，至永樂年間方成經典之姿。器形臻善後，玉壺春瓶遂選上佳白瓷料，以濃艷青花繪飾，彰顯非凡氣質。十五世紀初，陶瓷匠人於玉壺春瓶施繪多樣紋飾，尤喜取材植物花樣，巧妙精簡周邊紋飾範圍及數量，使主紋飾更顯醒目，愈見雅致。
永樂玉壺春瓶傳世甚稀，珍罕程度超乎執壺，實堪稱珍寶。所知永樂玉壺春瓶多以花卉為飾，然此拍品瓶腹所繪四季花卉之纏枝花卉紋乃屬罕見，所繪牡丹、梔子、菊花與山茶，分別象徵四季之花，牡丹映春光，梔子迎夏日，菊花沐秋涼，山茶綻冬寒。蓮花素為夏日象徵，惟十五世紀青花瓷，偶以梔子花代之，1994年出土於珠山東門頭之永樂龍紋盌內壁即為一例，詳見鴻禧美術館出版《景德鎮出土明初官窯瓷器》，台北，1996年，頁212-3，圖版75。
當時栀子花常見於瓷器上。四季花卉不僅於玉壺春瓶等瓷器上頻現，亦於瓷器盤心豐滿繪飾，如1984年珠山宣德御窯出土之黃地盤（參見鴻禧美術館《景德鎮出土明初官窯瓷器》，1998年，頁89，圖版88），或作為豐富折枝花卉紋一部分，如一件清宮御藏永樂大盤，現藏北京故宮博物院（參見故宮博物院藏文物珍品全集《青花釉裏紅，上》，香港，2000年，頁57，圖版54），或作為延展纏枝花卉一部分，如1994年珠山東門頭出土一件大盤口沿（參見鴻禧美術館《景德鎮出土明初官窯瓷器》，出處同上，頁152-3，圖版44）。栀子花於宋畫元雕漆頗見，明初瓷器上盛行之，或因當時貴婦人喜以此花簪髮，非但賞心悅目，且芳香撲鼻，增添幾分雅致。
景德鎮珠山1994年出土洪武青花盤，已可見少數纏枝花卉紋飾（參見鴻禧美術館《景德鎮出土明初官窯瓷器》，出處同上，頁102-5及108-9，圖版19、20與22），然至永樂年間，纏枝花卉紋始更為盛行，花卉各展風姿，如本瓶可見一斑。正如前述，永樂年間景德鎮的陶瓷匠工廣拓植物題材，融入更多花卉水果種類，且植物主題愈發自然呈現。此種自然主義風格，不僅受絲綢、紙繪啟發，亦得如《本草綱目》等醫藥文獻木版插圖之精髓。雖漢代植物研究已甚精進，然植物題材相關廣泛之插圖出版，實至宋金時期方始盛行，其中唐慎微（1056-1093）編撰、寇宗奭（活躍於1077年）衍義之《重修政和經史證類備用本草》尤為重要，後由張存惠修訂，於1249年出版。自此，研習此學備受矚目，至明朝時期，多部新編及修訂圖解書籍問世。
本拍品周邊紋飾亦甚具趣味，腹底疊瓣如意紋一圈，取代常見芭蕉葉。主要「四季」花卉紋上，精緻卷草紋作為對比襯托，上層則飾以回紋。口沿下紋飾雖罕見，然視覺效果極佳，飾如意雲頭紋，點綴細小花卉紋。這些周邊紋飾與主要「四季」花卉紋形成互補對比，相映成趣。
一件器型紋飾均與本拍品相似瓶子，藏於台北國立故宮博物院，載於《故宮藏瓷一明青花瓷（一）》，香港，1963年，圖版1，及劉良佑著《中國歷代陶瓷鑒賞4明官窯》，台北，1991年，頁55，左邊圖版。一件相似紋飾但瓶身略高之永樂瓶例，藏於上海博物館，圖錄於陸明華《明代官窯瓷器：上海博物館藏品研究大系》中（上海，2007年，頁91-3，圖版3-13）。北京故宮博物院藏一件清宮御藏玉壺春瓶，紋飾風格同此瓶，定年為宣德，詳見故宮博物院藏文物珍品全集《青花釉裏紅（上）》，香港，2000年，頁89，圖版86，然其花卉描述有誤。
有趣者，此形態、紋飾之永樂瓶，不僅為中國宮廷所青睞，亦為伊朗薩法維王朝第五任君主「阿拔斯一世」（1588-1629）鍾愛。兩件永樂玉壺春瓶尺寸與本拍品相若，紋飾亦類似，於1611年由阿拔斯一世贈予亞達畢爾廟，現藏德黑蘭伊斯蘭藝術博物館。兩件花瓶備受珍視，甚至刻有阿拔斯一世印記，詳見John A Pope所著《Chinese Porcelains from the Ardebil Shrine》（亞達畢爾廟之中國瓷器），倫敦，1981年再版，圖版53，編號29.448及29.450，以及T. Misugi所撰《近東所藏中國瓷器 : 托卡比王宮及亞達畢爾廟》，卷三，頁150，圖版73）；亞達畢爾廟另藏一件略大花瓶，器頸雖有損，但經過昂貴細緻綠松石鑲嵌修復（詳見Pope，出處同上，圖版53文字，以及Misugi，出處同上，頁151，圖版74，紋飾描述有誤；亦參見俞雨森《Gifts from the Ming court to the Islamic world》（明朝宮廷餽贈伊斯蘭世界的禮物）展示修復細節，《東方陶瓷學會會刊》，87卷，倫敦，2024年，頁118-9。
Price realised: HKD 27,600,000
Estimate: HKD 18,000,000 – HKD 25,000,000
Closed: 26 Sep 2024
The vase is finely potted with a pear-shaped body gently tapering to an everted rim and supported on a slightly splayed foot, boldly painted on the exterior in cobalt of sapphire blue tone with a broad band containing an undulating vine growing peony, gardenia, chrysanthemum and camellia blooms, buds and leaves, above a band of overlapping ruyi heads around the base, below borders enclosing foliate scroll, key fret and trefoils on the waisted neck.
10 in. (25.5 cm.) high.
PROVENANCE
Sold at Christie’s London, 10 December 1990, lot 167 (illustrated on the front cover)
EXHIBITED
Royal Academy of Arts, 100 Masterpieces from the Au Bak Ling Collection, London, 1998, no. 42
An Elegant and Very Rare Yongle Pear-shaped Vase
Rosemary Scott, Independent Scholar
This Yongle pear-shaped vase, yuhuchunping, exemplifies the height of elegance achieved by a form that came to prominence in porcelain during the Yuan dynasty, underwent some proportional changes in the first Ming dynasty reign of the Hongwu emperor, and then, in the Yongle reign, developed its classic shape. Having achieved an ideal profile, vases of this type also benefited from highly refined white body material, and rich cobalt blue used for their decoration. In this decoration, the early 15th century ceramic artists enjoyed a greater range of motifs – particularly those of botanical origin - which they brought to visual prominence through a reduction in the size and number of subsidiary decorative bands.
It is noteworthy that relatively few Yongle pear-shaped vases have survived. Indeed, fewer pear-shaped vases than pear-shaped ewers seem to have been preserved into the present day. The majority of published Yongle pear-shaped vases bear floral designs in their major decorative band, but the bold scroll encircling the current vase is a rare example of a mixed floral scroll with four major flowers. These are peony, gardenia, chrysanthemum, and camellia – probably intended to represent the ‘flowers of the four seasons’. Peony would represent spring, gardenia would represent summer, chrysanthemum would represent autumn, and camellia would represent winter. It is more common for lotus to represent summer, but on 15th century blue and white porcelains, gardenias were occasionally substituted, as on the interior of a Yongle dragon bowl excavated at Dongmentou, Zhushan, in 1994 (illustrated by the Chang Foundation in, Imperial Hongwu and Yongle Porcelain excavated at Jingdezhen, Taipei, 1996, pp. 212-3, no. 75) .
At this time, gardenias appear quite often on porcelain. In addition to their inclusion in the ‘flowers of the four seasons’ on vessels such as the current vase, they were painted in large scale in the centre of dishes, like the example with yellow enamelled ground excavated at the Xuande imperial kilns at Zhushan in 1984 (illustrated by the Chang Foundation in Xuande Imperial Porcelain excavated at Jingdezhen, Taipei, 1998, p. 89, no. 88), or as one of several accurately depicted floral sprays, seen on a large Yongle dish from the Qing court collection, now preserved in the Palace Museum, Beijing (illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum – 34 – Blue and White Porcelain with Underglaze Red (I), Hong Kong, 2000, p. 57, no.54), or as part of an extended mixed floral scroll, such as that painted around the cavetto of another large dish, excavated at Dongmentou, Zhushan, in 1994 (illustrated by the Chang Foundation, Imperial Hongwu and Yongle Porcelain excavated at Jingdezhen, op. cit., pp. 152-3, no. 44). While gardenias appear in Song dynasty paintings and on Yuan dynasty carved lacquer, their popularity on early Ming dynasty porcelain is probably associated with the predilection of ladies for wearing these flowers in their hair – not only because of their delicate beauty, but for their exquisite fragrance.
While a few, rather crowded, mixed floral scrolls can be seen on Hongwu period blue and white dishes excavated at Zhushan, Jingdezhen, in 1994 (see Chang Foundation, Imperial Hongwu and Yongle Porcelain excavated at Jingdezhen, op. cit., pp. 102-5 and 108-9, nos. 19, 20 and 22, respectively), it was in the Yongle reign that these mixed (or composite) floral scrolls came to prominence, opening out in a way that allowed the individual flowers to be appreciated – as on the current vase. As already noted, it was also in the Yongle reign that ceramic artists at Jingdezhen expanded their botanical repertoire to include a much greater range of flowers and fruit. This was accompanied by a greater naturalism in the rendering of these botanical themes. This naturalism would have been inspired not only by paintings on silk and paper, but also by the detailed woodblock illustrations in publications such as materia medica – pharmaceutical literature dealing with plants for their medicinal properties. Although studies of plants were already quite advanced in the Han dynasty, it was not until the Song and Jin dynasties that extensive illustrated publications on the subject of plants were produced. One of the most important of these was the Chongxiu Zhenghe Jingshi Zhenglei Beiyong Bencao (New Revision of the Classified and Consolidated Armamentarium Pharmacopoeia of the Zhenghe Reign) by Tang Shenwei (1056-1093) and Kou Zongshi (fl. 1077), revised by Zhang Cunhui, and published in 1249. Thenceforth, there was much interest in the study of this subject, and both new and revised illustrated publications were produced during the Ming dynasty.
The minor bands on the current vase are also of interest. In place of the more common plantain leaves, the current vase has a band of overlapping ruyi heads around the lower part of the body. Above the major ‘four seasons’ scroll, is a contrasting, elaborate, knobbed scroll, above which is a band of squared spirals. The decorative band under the mouth rim is also relatively unusual, but visually effective. It comprises a standing cloud collar, which is embellished with tiny floral motifs. All these minor bands provide a complementary contrast to the main ‘four seasons’ scroll, and to each other.
A Yongle vase of the same shape and decoration as the current vessel is in the collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei - illustrated in Porcelain of the National Palace Museum: Blue-and-White Ware of the Ming Dynasty, Book I, Hong Kong, 1963, plate 1, and by Liu Liang-yu in A Survey of Chinese Ceramics 4 Ming Official Wares, Taipei, 1991, p. 55, left-hand image. A Yongle vase also with identical decorative scheme to the current vase, but fractionally taller, is in the collection of the Shanghai Museum, and is illustrated by Lu Minghua in Mingdai guanyao ciqi – Shanghai bowuguan cangpin yanjiu daxi, Shanghai, 2007, pp. 91-3, no. 3-13. Another pear-shaped vase with the same decorative scheme, from the Qing court collection, is preserved in the collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing, and illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum – 34 – Blue and White Porcelain with Underglaze Red (I), Hong Kong, 2000, p. 89, no. 86, where it is attributed to the Xuande reign, and the floral scroll is incorrectly described.
Interestingly, Yongle vases of this form and decoration not only found favour with the members of the Chinese court, but also the court of Shah ‘Abbās (1588-1629), also known as ‘Abbās the Great, who was the fifth Safavid shah of Iran. Two Yongle pear-shaped vases, of approximately similar size, and bearing the same decoration as the current vase, are in the collection bequeathed to the Ardebil Shrine by Shah ‘Abbās in 1611, and now preserved in the Museum of Islamic Era, Tehran. Two of the vases were so highly prized that they was inscribed with the mark of Shah ‘Abbās (see John A Pope, Chinese Porcelains from the Ardebil Shrine, London, reprinted 1981 edition, pl. 53, no. 29.448 and 29.450, and T. Misugi, Chinese Porcelain Collections in the Near East: Topkapi and Ardebil, vol. III, p. 150, no. 73) , while another, slightly larger vase from the Ardebil Shrine bequest, although broken at the neck, was carefully and expensively repaired with a turquoise inlaid mount (see Pope, op. cit., pl. 53, text, and Misugi op. cit., p. 151, no. 74, where the decoration is incorrectly described, and Yusen Yu, ‘Gifts from the Ming court to the Islamic world’, Transactions of the Oriental Ceramic Society, vol. 87, London, 2024, pp. 118-9, where a detail showing the mount is illustrated).
Comments