A rare and large blue and white 'dragon' bowl, Phags-pa mark and period of Zhengde | 明正德 青花穿蓮龍紋大盌 八思巴文款 漢譯《至正年製》 

Sotheby's Hong Kong, 13th November 1990, lot 137.

香港蘇富比1990年11月13日，編號137

Zhongguo mingtao Riben xunhui zhan. Gangtai mingjia shoucang taoci jingpin [Exhibition of famous Chinese ceramics touring Japan. Fine ceramics from private Hong Kong and Taiwanese Collections], Museum of History, Taipei, 1992, p. 130.

The Leshantang Collection of Chinese Porcelain, Taipei, 2005, pl. 10.

Lü Chenglong, Zhongguo gutaoci kuanzhi, Beijing, 2023, fig. 557.

《中國名陶日本巡迴展—港台名家收藏陶瓷精品》，歷史博物館，台北，1992年，頁130

《樂山堂藏瓷》，台北，2005年，圖版10

呂成龍，《中國古陶瓷款識》，北京，2023年，圖557

Chūgoku meitō ten: Chūgoku tōji 2000-nen no seika [Exhibition of important Chinese ceramics: Essence of two thousand years of Chinese ceramics], Nihonbashi Takashimaya, Tokyo, and six other locations in Japan, 1992, cat. no. 87.

Ching Wan Society Millennium Exhibition, Chang Foundation, Taipei, 2000, cat. no. 91.

《中国名陶展：中国陶磁2000年の精華》，橋高島屋，東京，以及其他六個日本縣市，1992年，編號87

《千禧年清翫雅集收藏展》，鴻禧美術館，台北，2000年，編號91

This finely painted bowl, inscribed with a highly unusual Phags-pa mark, is a rare and intriguing specimen that is unique to the brief reign of the Zhengde Emperor (r. 1506-21), who is known for his indulgent lifestyle and zealous fascination with Lamaism. The peculiar and sporadic presence of Phags-pa inscription (the actual use of which was short-lived and limited to about a hundred years in the 12th and 13th centuries during the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty) on 16th-century ware has captured the attention of scholars and connoisseurs alike, including Mr Kot See-for of Tianminlou, leading to extensive academic discussions on the interpretation of the mark. The master of Leshantang has very likely taken notice of the importance of these Phags-pa-marked Zhengde wares, and as early in the 1990s when the debate was still ongoing, he has acquired the only two known Zhengde Phags-pa pieces available in private hands as of now. 

Extant examples that bear this mark are incredibly rare, with a total of only seven recorded examples including the present bowl, and five of which are now preserved in important museums. Two of them are housed in the Beijing Palace Museum, one of which (d. 22.8 cm, accession no. xin-107307) is nearly identical to the present bowl, and the other is a blue and white ‘dragon among turbulent waves’ dish of comparable size (d. 23.7 cm); see The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Blue and White Porcelain With Underglazed Red (I), Hong Kong, 2000, pls 62 and 70. The same mark is seen on two large dishes painted with similar dragon and lotus motif, one is housed in the Freer Gallery of Art (d. 21.6 cm, accession no. F1962.17a-b), and the other was sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 23rd March 1993, lot 720 (d. 26.4 cm) and subsequently entered the Leshantang Collection. Besides these surviving blue and white examples, this Phags-pa mark is also found on a rare and technically demanding group of Zhengde wares - yellow-ground wares with slip-trailed and green-enamelled dragons - see a large bowl in the British Museum (d. 23.3 cm, accession no. 1926,1124.1), illustrated and discussed by R.L. Hobson in 'Chinese Porcelain Fragments from Aidhab and Some Bashpa Inscriptions', The Transactions of the Oriental Ceramic Society, London, 1926-27, pl. VI, fig. 2 and p. 21; and a related stem cup in the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. (accession no. 1972.43.6). 

A very small group of discarded examples and base shards bearing this Phags-pa mark was excavated at the Ming imperial kilns site in Jingdezhen. Some are in the blue and white palette with the iconic Zhengde motif of dragon writhing among waves or lotus, others are unfinished products left in the biscuit-fired state with slip-trailed dragons and an underglaze-blue Phags-pa mark. Among the rare, excavated specimens is a unique fragment of a blue-ground yellow-enamelled bowl bearing this mark in underglaze-blue within a yellow-enamelled double circle. For illustrations, see Ceramic Finds from Jingdezhen Kilns, University of Hong Kong Fung Ping Shan Museum, Hong Kong, 1992, cat. no. 253; and Lü Chenglong, Zhongguo gutaoci kuanzhi, Beijing, 2023, pp. 287-292, figs 559-565. 

There were various interpretations of this Phags-pa mark in the past and it is now widely accepted that the mark reads phonetically zhizheng nian zhi (‘made in the reign of Zhizheng’), which interestingly makes reference to the reign of the last emperor of the Yuan dynasty. The Phags-pa script itself was created by the influential Tibetan lama Drogön Chögyal Phags-pa, after whom the script was named. It was developed under the order of Kublai Khan, the founder of the Yuan dynasty, as a unified script to represent Chinese sounds in Tibetan characters. While briefly adopted as the official script of administration, it was not much used in China after the collapse of the Mongol empire. The potters in Jingdezhen likely did not understand this abandoned script, making it challenging to accurately reproduce the mark, which consequently further complicated the interpretations of the mark. 

The intriguing reappearance of this abandoned script on 16th-century wares can be attributed to the Zhengde Emperor's fervent fascination with Lamaism. It has been proposed that the emperor commissioned these wares as lavish gifts for the lamas or for those who were invited to reside in the infamous ‘Leopard’s Chamber’ in Beijing. Historical records also mention unparalleled extravagance when it came to indulging these influential figurines.

本品書八思巴文年款，屬明正德朝獨有特色，甚為少見，別有意趣。八思巴文僅短暫用於十二世紀末至十三世紀初，作爲元代官定國字約一百多年。此類十六世紀器物之八思巴文款識，屢得學者與鑑藏家之專研，如天民樓葛師科先生與一眾學者，針對此年款曾作諸多探討。1990年代，此思辨仍盛行，樂山堂主人應甚認同八思巴文年款的正德官瓷之重要性，遂購藏私人藏界唯二作例，於此可見。

類同年款者極為罕見，包含本品存世僅知七例，其中五件為知名博物館藏品。二者藏於北京故宮博物院，其一（直徑22.8 公分，館藏編號：新-107307），幾與本品一致，另一盤繪海水龍紋，（直徑23.7 公分）；圖見《故宮博物院藏文物珍品全集．青花釉裏紅（上）》，香港，2000年，圖版62及70。弗利爾美術館藏一盤，青花穿蓮龍紋類似本品，同書八思巴文年款（直徑21.6 公分，館藏編號：F1962.17a-b），還有一例1993年3月23日售於香港佳士得，編號720（直徑26.4公分），後入樂山堂珍藏。青花作例之外，八思巴文年款亦可見於少數正德朝器物，如大英博物館藏黃地綠彩凸龍紋大盌（直徑23.3公分，館藏編號：1926,1124.1），刊載於霍蒲孫，〈Chinese Porcelain Fragments from Aidhab and Some Bashpa Inscriptions〉，《The Transactions of the Oriental Ceramic Society》，倫敦，1926-27年，圖版VI，圖2，頁21；華盛頓特區國家美術館收藏一件相類高足盃（館藏編號：1972.43.6）。

景德鎮明代御窰遺址，亦出土少量八思巴文殘片，部分為典型正德青花穿蓮龍紋或海水龍紋，亦有澀胎龍紋半成品，並書青花八思巴文年款者。其中一例藍地黃彩盌底殘片，黃釉雙圈青花八思巴文年款，獨特無二，參見《景德鎮出土陶瓷》，香港大學馮平山博物館，香港，1992年，編號253；及呂成龍，《中國古陶瓷款識》，北京，2023年，頁287-292，圖559-565。

此類八思巴文款識之解讀，昔見各種看法，現今廣為認知應為「至正年製」之譯音，且遙應元代末帝一朝。元朝開國君主忽必烈時，國師八思巴創此文字系統，遂得此名，以藏文摹寫漢文讀音，一度成為國內通用文字，元代覆亡後遂罕用。景德鎮瓷匠應或不解其文，正確書此年款更屬不易，如此訛誤使得後世讀譯越顯艱難。

十六世紀官瓷上的八思巴文，或反映出正德皇帝對藏傳佛教及喇嘛的崇拜心理。學者推測皇帝或詔命製作此批御瓷，賞賜予喇嘛或供「豹房」中的國師、活佛享用。歷史記載中亦可見明武宗益好異教、好習番語，以及當朝宮廷種種華奢隆寵藏僧行徑。