A FINE BLUE AND WHITE MING-STYLE 'PERSIMMON' MOONFLASK, QING DYNASTY, YONGZHENG PERIOD | 清雍正 青花事事如意紋雙耳抱月瓶

Collection of T.Y. Chao (1912-1999).

Sotheby's Hong Kong, 19th May 1987, lot 276.

趙從衍（1912-1999年）收藏

香港蘇富比1987年5月19日，編號276

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], Nihonbashi Takashimaya, Tokyo, 1992, p. 204-205.

《中國名陶日本巡迴展，港台名家收藏陶瓷精品》，日本橋高島屋，東京，1992年，第204至205頁

This elegant moonflask assumes an immediate sense of familiarity through the elegantly rendered design and shape, both of which were made to emulate historical masterpieces of the early Ming dynasty. A popular form in the early fifteenth century derived from Middle Eastern metal vessels, moonflasks experienced renewed favour during the early Qing period, when Manchu emperors eagerly attempted to strengthen their rule by utilising classic elements from the past to demonstrate their knowledge and their utmost respect for the nation's glorious past. Official stonewares of the Song dynasty and blue and white porcelain of the Ming period from the Imperial collection became models that provided the standard for the Jingdezhen potters to aspire to.

The sophisticated, circular shape of this flask demand considerable expertise, and under the tutelage of the great Superintendent Tang Ying (1682-1756), the refinement of the material and advances in craftsmanship helped recreating an enticingly shaped and alluringly painted classic. The sensitivity of the Qing craftsmen is also evidenced in the way the current moonflask was formed, which two halves were aligned vertically as opposed to horizontally predominantly seen in surviving Yongle prototypes, endowing the vessel a more oblate and asymmetrical silhouette.

Compared a closely related example in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, Museum number Gu-Ci--016953-N000000000; and another, from the Oei Yok-Kee collection, included in the exhibition A Loan Exhibition of Chinese Art. Ming & Ch’ing Periods, British Council Centre, Singapore, 1953, cat. no. 107.

The flowers and fruits depicted on the front and reverse of this flask in brilliant tones of cobalt blue have been intentionally rendered in the Ming-style to evoke the past. The generous spacing left white between the decoration elements was a repertoire first seen on Yongle blue and white pieces, which allowed craftsmen to be more lively and free with his brushwork and to create a composition that is more painterly and less stylised. The design is also steep in auspicious symbolism; the word ‘persimmon (shi)’ in Chinese is homophonous with the character for ‘affairs (shi)’, hence the depiction of clusters of persimmons often associated with the auspicious message shishi ruyi ('may your affairs go as you wish').

本抱月瓶器形紋飾均屬經典，仿早明著名作例而製，典雅秀麗。抱月瓶器形按中東金屬器雛本發展而成，再度復興於清代早期。當時滿洲皇帝銳意鞏固統治，展示其對中國深厚文化之理解與敬重，經典工藝元素因而常見於御製工藝。宋代官窯及宮廷御藏明代青花瓷器等，均成景德鎮陶匠著意模仿之典範。

本瓶器形匀稱渾圓，於督陶官唐英（1682-1756年）監督下燒成，陶質上乘，工藝超卓，所稱製品器形臻美，紋飾婉約。清代瓷匠工藝精細，從本瓶組成手法可見。明代原型，多由上下兩部份組合成形狀，本品則以左右兩部份合併，所成瓶型較扁而不對稱。

台北故宮博物院收藏一例，藏品編號故-瓷--016953-N000000000；另一例出自Oei Yok-Kee收藏，曾展於《A Loan Exhibition of Chinese Art. Ming & Ch’ing Periods》，英國協會中心，新加坡， 1953年，編號107。

本瓶花果紋飾鈷藍明艷，特意模仿明代風格。紋飾之間留白手法，首見於明永樂青花瓷，畫風自由，更具畫意。柿與事諧音，故此紋飾有事事如意之吉祥寓意。