A rare large blue and white 'floral scroll' dish

Yongle

Footnotes

明永樂 青花纏枝花卉紋大盤

Provenance 來源:
Henry M. Knight Collection (d.1971)
A European private collection

亨利·奈特收藏(於1971年過世)
歐洲私人收藏

Exhibited 展覽:
Groninger Museum, Groningen, on loan circa 1995-2005

約1995至2005年間借展於荷蘭格羅寧根博物館

The present lot is one of a group of dishes produced with composite floral scrolls, which can be dated to the Yongle period: one example was excavated from the Yongle strata at Dongmentou, Zhushan, in 1994 and published by the Chang Foundation, Imperial Hongwu and Yongle Porcelain excavated at Jingdezhen, Taipei, 1996, p.152, no.44.

Large serving dishes of broad, flat form were developed during the Yuan period, and their production continued in the early Ming. They appealed not only to the domestic Chinese market, but were also exported to the Middle East. The international demand for such pieces brought the financial benefits of trade and also established the Yongle emperor's authority and status as the legitimate ruler of China. The elegant scrolling blue and white painting style became an inspiration for many potters locally and in foreign lands, with the result that such dishes have been described as 'the world's first truly global product': see C.Clunas and J.Harrison-Hall, Ming: 50 Years That Changed China, London, 2014, p.289, fig.257.

Such dishes with vivid painted cobalt blue under a clear glaze were popular and revered during the Yuan and Ming periods, with extensive examples preserved in royal collections of the Safavids in Iran, Mughals in India and the Ottomans in Turkey. See an example with inscribed devanagari inscription at the base indicating the name of the Emperor Shah Jahan, correspondingly dated to 1632, published by P.Hardie, 'China's Ceramic Trade with India', Transactions of the Oriental Ceramic Society, London, 1983-84, vol.48, p.19, pls.3 and 4; and also see another dish dated to the early 15th century in the Archaeological Museum, Tehran, illustrated by J.A.Pope, Chinese Porcelains from the Ardebil Shrine, Cambridge, 1981, pl.34, no.29.88.

Other examples can be found in important museum collections: see one such dish, early 15th century, illustrated by J.Ayers, Chinese Ceramics in the Baur Collection, Vol.I, Geneva, 1999, p.112, no.61; a similar example, early 15th century, in the Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art is described by M.Medley, Illustrated Catalogue of Underglaze Blue and Copper Red Decorated Porcelains, London, 1976, no.A663; see also another dish of identical size and design, illustrated by M.Blackwelder and J.E.Vollmer, At the Edge of the Sky. Asian Art in the Collection of the San Antonio Museum of Art, San Antonio, 2009, pp.92-93, pl.35; and another very similar example is in the Art Institute of Chicago, museum ref.1954.463.

For comparable examples of such dishes in important private collections: see J.Mayuyama, Mayuyama, Seventy Years, Vol.1, Tokyo, 1976, no.756; and also another illustrated by R.Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, vol.II, pp.52 and 53, no.664. Compare also another in the T.Y.Chao collection, illustrated in Ming and Ch'ing Porcelain from the Collection of the T.Y.Chao Family Foundation, Hong Kong, 1978, no.5

A similar dish sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 4 April 2012, lot 3152.

盤折沿，弧壁，圈足，砂底。盤心繪纏枝牡丹紋，內壁繪纏枝花卉紋，口沿飾海水浪花。外壁繪纏枝蓮花、菊花紋共十一組。盤造型規整，青花發色純正，紋飾佈局層次分明，繪畫筆意流暢。

此盤為明代永樂一朝所燒製青花纏枝花卉紋折沿大盤中的典型一例，類似之器曾於景德鎮東門頭珠山御窯廠遺址永樂底層出土，見鴻禧美術館，《景德鎮出土明初官窯瓷器》，台北，1996年，頁152，圖44。

明成祖朱棣在位期間，由於政治經濟穩定發展，製瓷工藝也在繼承元代的基礎上有所進步和創新。明初此類大盤除為宮廷燒造使用外，亦專門燒製並通過朝貢貿易回贈給西亞人，這在一方面為增長了經濟發展，另一方面又通過貿易鞏固了明政府的統治地位。永樂一朝青花大多使用進口鈷料，俗稱「蘇麻離青」，這種進口青料與國產青料不同，含鐵較高而含錳較低，呈色濃艷，釉面會呈現自然形成的結晶斑點並有錫光，所繪紋飾會有暈散的現象。此類纏枝花卉紋青花盤因其紋飾秀麗而得名於天下，並曾西方被形容為「天下第一之全球性產品」，見C. Clunas 與 J. Harrison-Hall著，《Ming: 50 Years That Changed China》，倫敦，2014年，圖257。

中亞各古國皇室舊藏中亦可見類似的元、明兩朝所燒製的類似的青花大盤，包括伊朗的薩菲王朝、印度的莫臥兒王朝以及土耳其的奧斯曼帝國。參看一例底部用天城文刻有莫臥兒帝國皇帝沙賈汗名字以及1632年紀年的青花大盤，見P.Hardie，「China's Ceramic Trade with India」，於《Transactions of the Oriental Ceramic Society》，倫敦，1983-84年，卷48，頁19，圖3，4。

世界各地博物館中亦有相似之例可資參考，見德黑蘭考古博物館藏一件15世紀青花大盤，著錄於J.A.Pope，《Chinese Porcelains from the Ardebil Shrine》，劍橋，1981年，圖版34，編號29.88，另見鮑氏舊藏一件15世紀大盤（編號A140），J.Ayers著，《Chinese Ceramics in the Baur Collection》，卷1，日內瓦，1999年，頁112，圖61。英國大衛德基金亦藏一件15世紀大盤可資參考，見M.Medley，《Illustrated Catalogue of Underglaze Blue and Copper Red Decorated Porcelains》，倫敦，1976年，編號A663。另見Lenora及Walter F.Brown舊藏，現藏於聖安東尼奧博物館的一件永樂青花纏枝紋大盤，其尺寸及紋飾與本拍品如出一轍，見M.Blackwelder及J.E.Vollmer，《At the Edge of the Sky. Asian Art in the Collection of the San Antonio Museum of Art》，聖安東尼奧，2009年，頁92-93，圖版35；。芝加哥藝術博物館藏一件曾由Russell Tyson從Bluett & Sons收購並捐贈的青花大盤亦可作比較，編號1954.463。

除博物館外，私人收藏之類似傳世品可見繭山順吉編，《繭山龍泉堂70年》，卷1，東京，1976年，編號756，另R.Krahl著，《玫茵堂藏中國陶瓷》，卷2，頁52，53，編號664。另見趙從衍舊藏一例，《Ming and Ch'ing Porcelain from the Collection of the T.Y.Chao Family Foundation》，香港，1978年，圖5。

拍賣會中之類似器物，可見倫敦佳士得1996年6月10日售出一例，編號73，後於香港蘇富比於2012年4月4日售出，編號3152。另見香港佳士得1994年10月31日售出一例，編號548，後又於紐約佳士得2005年9月20日售出，編號254，最後第三度由紐約蘇富比於2007年3月19日售出，編號751。亦可見香港蘇富比2005年10月23日售出一例，編號335。