Lot 6046 An extremely rare and superb blue and white 'lotus scroll' vase, yuhuchunping, Ming dynasty, 15th century | 明十五世紀　青花纏枝番蓮紋玉壺春瓶

An extremely rare and superb blue and white 'lotus scroll' vase, yuhuchunping, Ming dynasty, 15th century | 明十五世紀　青花纏枝番蓮紋玉壺春瓶

HKD 2,000,000

2,000,000 - 4,000,000 HKD

未知

Excellent overall condition, with just a natural tiny glaze flake (approx. 0.1×0.3cm) on the mouth rim resulting from an original bubble burst.

整體品相良好。僅口沿見一點小爆釉，導致約0.1x0.3公分剝釉。

If a condition report is provided to assist you with assessing the condition of the lot, it is for guidance purposes only. Such condition report may not refer to all faults, restoration, alterations, or adaptations because Sotheby's is not a professional conservator or restorer but rather a condition report is a statement of subjective, qualified opinion genuinely held by Sotheby's. For these reasons, any such condition report is not an alternative to taking your own professional advice regarding the condition of the lot. Prospective buyers should also refer to the Guide for Buyers at Auction which includes important notices concerning the type of property in this sale.

30.3 cm
来源：Collection of Y.C. Chen (1922-2012).
Christie's Hong Kong, 29th May 2013, lot 1936.
图录
说明：來源
陳玉階（1922-2012年）收藏
香港佳士得2013年5月29日，編號1936
The 15th century witnessed a fascinating evolution in porcelain production; initially heavily influenced by the attractive style of the Xuande reign, the potters gradually developed a distinctive, sophisticated style by making a deliberate move away from earlier models, perhaps most evident in the idiosyncratic forms and designs that were developed. The present vase is a fine and unique example of such transformation; while its motifs and form are rooted in traditions established from the beginning of the Ming dynasty.
Veiled with a lustrous silky glaze, this vase is a quintessential 15th-century creation. ‘Softer’ to the touch than its predecessors, it marks the move away from the crisp and glossy glazes of the finest Xuande wares and towards the muted, velvety glaze of the famous Chenghua palace bowls. It is interesting to compare the current vase to two meiping decorated with vibrant foliate scrolls, which can be attributed to the early years of Chenghua through their glaze and cobalt that are closer to the Xuande type; see a pair from the collection of Robert C. Bruce, sold in our London rooms, 12th May 1953, lot 87, one of which entered the H.R.N. Norton and J.T. Tai collections, and sold in our London rooms, 5th November 1963, lot 160, and again in these rooms, 8th October 2010, lot 2622, the other sold in our London rooms, 1st/2nd April 1974, lot 197, and again in these rooms, 16th May 1989, lot 18, from the British Rail Pension Fund. These meiping were reunited briefly in the 1970s at Hugh Moss Ltd, when both were illustrated together in Adrian Joseph, Ming Porcelain: Their Origins and Development, London, 1971, pl. 39.
The undulating lingzhi scroll on the neck finds a close parallel in a line drawing of a mid-15th century motif, which similarly features an outlined stem and leaves emerging from behind the fungus, published in Geng Baochang, Ming Qing ciqi jianding [Appraisal of Ming and Qing Porcelains], Hong Kong, 1993, fig. 175 (middle right).
For other related and larger vessels dated to the Chenghua period, see a pear-shaped vase decorated with similarly rendered lotus scrolls, on a tall flared foot and flanked with handles, from the collection of L.A. Basmadgieff, sold in our London rooms, 11th December 1979, lot 278, and again in these rooms, 8th April 2011, lot 3199; a bottle vase painted with phoenix among lotus scrolls, published in The Emperor's Broken China: Reconstructing Chenghua Porcelain, pl. 47, together with a fragmentary ewer, pl. 48; and a lobed vase, from the Qing Court collection and still in Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Blue and White Porcelain with Underglazed Red (II), Shanghai, 2000, pl. 1. Compare also a meiping attributed to the Chenghua period, included in Geng Baochang, op. cit., p. 88, fig. 150, together with a guan jar, fig. 152; and a ‘lotus bud’ vase, col. pl. 33 and fig. 151, offered in our New York rooms, 20th March 2018, lot 113.
十五世紀見證了瓷器燒造一段引人入勝的演變；初期雖深受宣德時期迷人風格的影響，陶工們卻逐漸發展出獨特而精緻的風格，刻意擺脫早期模型的束縛，這在當時發展出的特殊器形與紋飾上尤為明顯。本瓶正是此一轉變的絕佳且獨特的例證；其紋飾與器形雖源自明初奠定的傳統。
本瓶罩以瑩潤如絲的釉面，實為十五世紀瓷器的典型之作。其觸感較前朝作品更為「柔和」，標誌著從宣德頂級瓷器清脆瑩亮的釉面，轉向著名成化宮盌那種溫潤如玉、柔和內斂的釉色。將本瓶與兩件飾有生動纏枝花卉紋的梅瓶作對比，頗具趣味。該兩件梅瓶的釉色與青花發色較接近宣德風格，可斷代為成化早年；參考一對出自 Robert C. Bruce 舊藏之作，售於倫敦蘇富比1953年5月12日，編號87，其中一件先後入 H.R.N. Norton 及戴潤齋（J.T. Tai）收藏，售於倫敦蘇富比1963年11月5日，編號160，後再售於香港蘇富比2010年10月8日，編號2622；另一件售於倫敦蘇富比1974年4月1至2日，編號197，後屬英國鐵路養老基金會舊藏，再售於香港蘇富比1989年5月16日，編號18。此對梅瓶曾於1970年代在 Hugh Moss Ltd 短暫重聚，並共同收錄於 Adrian Joseph 著，《Ming Porcelain: Their Origins and Development》，倫敦，1971年，圖版39。
頸部起伏的纏枝靈芝紋，與一幅十五世紀中期紋飾的線描圖極為相似，其莖葉亦以雙勾描繪，自靈芝後方伸出，載於耿寶昌著，《明清瓷器鑑定》，香港，1993年，圖175（中右）。
關於斷代為成化時期的其他相關較大型器物，可參考一件青花雙耳高足梨式瓶，繪有類似的纏枝蓮紋，出自 L.A. Basmadgieff 收藏，售於倫敦蘇富比1979年12月11日，編號278，後再售於香港蘇富比2011年4月8日，編號3199；一件青花穿花鳳凰紋長頸瓶，載於《皇帝的破瓷器：景德鎮出土明成化官窯瓷器》，圖版47，同書並載一件執壺殘器，圖版48；以及一件清宮舊藏的瓜稜瓶，現存北京，載於《故宮博物院藏文物珍品全集．青花釉裏紅（中）》，上海，2000年，圖版1。另比較一件定為成化時期的梅瓶，收錄於耿寶昌，前述出處，頁88，圖150，同書並載一件罐，圖152；以及一件「蓮苞」瓶，見彩圖版33及圖151，曾上拍於紐約蘇富比2018年3月20日，編號113。