F ollowing on from the success of Part I in New York in March and the record-breaking first Hong Kong chapter in April, the carefully curated sale presents six masterpieces from the 18th century showcasing the unparalleled technical mastery of the imperial kilns and workshops.
上承年初吳權博士典藏專場在紐約香港兩地接連取得驕人佳績，今秋香港蘇富比很榮幸能續呈美器，獻上六件十八世紀御製瓷器及工藝佳作，見證當時御窰及作坊的神工妙技，誠鑑藏雅士夢寐良機。
- Yangcai 洋彩
Reticulated yangcai vases represent one of the last great innovations developed by Tang Ying (1682-1756), the imperial kilns’ creative supervisor. They are a tangible testament to the unprecedented and unparalleled culmination of technical virtuosity in porcelain production between 1741 and 1743, fuelled by an imperial reprimand from the Qianlong Emperor.
洋彩玲瓏瓶，當屬景德鎮御窰督陶官唐英（1682-1756年）晚年為乾隆皇帝創燒之新瓷。遭皇上訓斥他監理不力，唐英遂煞費心神，誓要推陳出新、將功補過，在往後兩年，讓御窰瓷藝技術騰飛躍進，博取龍顏之悅。
- Interlocking 交泰
To create porcelain pieces with moveable and interlocking parts in porcelain and to fire them repeatedly at different temperatures, first for the porcelain itself, where it shrinks, and then again for the various colours, was a challenge never attempted before.
欲得交泰轉心瓷，必須分段製作，反覆以不同溫度燒成。初造瓷胎，期間坯土受熱收縮，然後添施彩料，再行入窰燒就，過程講究，極具挑戰性，曠古未有。
- Revolving 轉旋
This type of revolving vase is composed of four sections: an inner vase, which is connected to the overhanging collar, and two detached parts for upper and lower sections of the outer walls. The inner vase is painted – like on the present piece – with underglaze-blue lotus.
此類轉旋瓶必須分開四層製作，器頸與內瓶結榫套合，配上器腹與底座。內瓶繪青花蓮紋，從鏤空隙間透現。
- Trigrams 八卦
Qian and kun together signifies heaven and earth. For the Qianlong Emperor, such symbols of a harmonious universe must have felt like a gratifying comment on his own rule.
乾為天，坤為地，二卦契合，互為補足。乾坤交泰瓶既有天地協和之意，對一國之君而言，正中下懷。
☰ qian - heaven 乾為天 ☵ kan - water 坎為水 ☶ gen - mountain 艮為山 ☳
zhen - thunder 震為雷 ☴ xun - wind 巽為風 ☲ li - fire 離為火 ☷ kun - earth 坤為地 ☱ dui - lake 兑為澤
It would be hard to find a porcelain vessel that can better embody the artistry and aesthetics fostered by the Qianlong Emperor and the peak of craftsmanship at the imperial kilns in Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province. In its outstanding technical intricacy, combining reticulated, interlocking and revolving features, its auspicious design with Chinese symbolism and Western baroque features, and its rich and superbly balanced colour scheme and brocade-style ground, this ceramic work of art is of a sophistication that has never been surpassed. Even this most demanding of patrons, the connoisseur Qianlong Emperor (r. 1736-95), who was hard to please, could not have wished for more. Court archives show that this vase must have been made either in 1743 or immediately thereafter, at a period when the Emperor was in his prime and the imperial manufactories achieved their greatest triumphs.
欲尋一器以總結乾隆帝的藝術美學觀念，兼展示當時江西景德鎮御窰的工精技絕，難矣。然此瓶，巧奪天工，鏤雕、交泰、轉旋集匯一身，以中國禎祥紋樣，搭襯西方巴洛克風圖案，且配色艷麗，紫紅明黃妙相合，隙地錐剔鳳尾卷草錦紋，誠鬼斧神工，超前絕後。乾隆帝（1736-95年間在位）善鑑好藏，要求嚴格謹慎之處，無出其右，一般難以取悅，然接獲如此巧製佳瓷，也是無可挑剔了。據清宮檔案，此瓶當是乾隆八年（1743年）或即後數年燒成，時皇權正盛，御窰發展更是攀峰登極。
Qianlong Yangcai Reticulated Vase: The Story of an Emperor's Approval and Tang Ying's Redemption
- Prunus 梅花
- Peach Blossom 桃花
- Magnolia 玉蘭
- Camellia 茶花
- Lily 百合
- Mallow 蜀葵
- Pomegranate 石榴花
- Morning Glory 牽牛花
- Poppy 虞美人
- Chrysanthemum 菊花
- Peony 牡丹
- Rose 月桂
- Hibiscus 朱槿
This majestic, superbly enamelled pair of vases, with its sumptuous depiction of butterflies and flowers in radiant colours on a rarely used bright pink ground, is archetypical of yangcai porcelains that were produced for a very short period by the imperial kilns at Jingdezhen for the Qianlong Emperor. They are characterized by the phenomenal opulence of their decoration as well as the rich spectrum of their enamels and were amongst the most prized types of porcelain at the Qing court. Yangcai vases were made in very small quantities altogether and of each design, usually only a single piece or a pair was made. It is exceedingly rare to find a matching pair of such vases to have survived and to remain united outside the collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei, and the present pieces are among the largest specimens preserved.
此對洋彩瓶紋飾秀麗，施明豔粉地，繪蝶舞花間，繽紛絢爛，美不勝收。景德鎮御窰廠燒洋彩瓷以獻乾隆，開窰時間甚短，成器稀貴，粉地尤為難得。洋彩瓷紋飾華美，用色斑斕，乃清宮瓷器最高品級之一。洋彩瓶產量疏少，依式樣或出孤品或作一對。除台北故宮館藏外，傳世洋彩瓶成對者寥若晨星，器形魁碩如此對者更可遇不可求。
