A FINE AND EXTREMELY RARE CORAL-RED GROUND FAMILLE-ROSE ALTAR VASE SEAL MARK AND PERIOD OF QIANLONG | 清乾隆 粉彩珊瑚紅地番蓮八吉祥紋賁巴壺 《大清乾隆年製》款

Sotheby's Hong Kong, 4th/5th November 1997, lot 1567.

香港蘇富比1997年11月4/5日，編號1567

Richly decorated with the bajixiang on a luxurious ruby-ground, the current vase belongs to a group of vessels produced during the Qianlong period in imitation of Tibetan metalwork, for use either in the Lamaist temples in Beijing or as imperial gifts to visiting Tibetan lamas. These porcelain vessels are derived from the metal-bodied Tibetan altar vases, such as the jewelled silver benja pot made for use in one of the Buddhist chapels in the Forbidden City, illustrated in Cultural Relics of Tibetan Buddhism Collected in the Qing Palace, Beijing, 1992, pl. 146 (partly concealed by its pleated silk wrapping).

A devout follower and patron of Tibetan Buddhism, the Qianlong Emperor commissioned the construction of numerous halls and shrines dedicated to the recitation of Buddhist scriptures, including the Baoxiang Lou (Hall of Precious Forms), which was built around 1771 for his mother, Empress Xiaosheng. These halls were lavishly furnished with Buddhist sculptures and vessels, including porcelain vases like the present one.

The current vase is extremely rare and appears to be the only recorded coral-ground example of the period. Qianlong mark and period vases of this form are more commonly found decorated with other coloured grounds, including two yellow-ground examples, the first published in Julian Thompson, The Alan Chuang Collection of Chinese Porcelain, Hong Kong, 2009, pl. 112, and the second illustrated in Lu Minghua, Qingdai Yongzheng-Xuantong guanyao ciqi [Qing dynasty official wares from the Yongzheng to the Xuantong reigns], Shanghai, 2014, pl. 3-154. Compare also a pink-ground example from the Fonthill Heirlooms, illustrated in Hugh Moss, By Imperial Command. An Introduction to Chinese Imperial Painted Enamels, Hong Kong, 1976, pl. 84, sold in these rooms, 20th May 1981, lot 871.

粉彩賁巴壺，珊瑚紅地綴番蓮八吉祥紋，富麗細緻，屬乾隆窰仿燒藏傳金屬器，原應用於北京喇嘛寺，或施予來朝西藏喇嘛。金屬雛本或為銀製，如清宮舊藏一例，供於內廷佛壇，刊於《清宮藏傳佛教文物》，北京，1992年，圖版146。

乾隆帝虔敬仰佛，依據佛教經典，大興土木建造佛寺、祭壇，如寶相樓，建於1771年，特為皇母孝聖皇太后而造。整體華麗莊嚴，陳設大量造像、法器，包括本品此類粉彩賁巴壺。

本品為現知唯一乾隆窰珊瑚紅地賁巴壺，極為珍稀。其他相類粉彩賁巴壺，多飾他色彩地，如二例黃地者，其一錄於《中國瓷器莊紹綏收藏》，香港，2009年，圖版112，另者載於陸明華，《清代雍正－宣統官窰瓷器》，上海，2014年，圖版 3-154。比較放山居舊藏一例粉地，刊於莫士撝，《御製》，香港，1976年，圖版84，1981年5月20日，售於香港蘇富比，編號871。