A highly important and extremely fine early Ming underglaze-blue vase, yuhuchunping. Hongwu period (1368-1398). Photo: Christie's Images Ltd., 2009.

The well-potted pear-shaped vase decorated in cobalt with a distinct 'heaping and piling' effect on the globular body, with four peony blossoms rendered alternately full-faced and in profile, borne on a slender scrolling stem with serrated leaves and buds, between upright lotus petal panels and a pendent trefoil collar, the waisted neck encircled by a classic scroll, keyfret and overlapping plantain leaves below the flaring mouth rim, supported on a slightly splayed foot decorated with classic scrolls 13 in. (33 cm.) high, box - Estimate on request

明洪武 青花纏枝牡丹紋玉壺春瓶
蘇玫瑰 - 國際亞洲藝術部學術總監

此玉壺春瓶不但燒製完美、品相無暇，青花的紋飾更為珍罕，因為寥若晨星的傳世品中多為釉裏紅器。盡管在景德鎮禦窰廠遺址出土了一批洪武青花瓷器，但青花瓷器還是要比釉裏紅瓷器更為珍貴。現存的洪武青花瓷器明顯少於釉裏紅器其原因是可能洪武皇帝偏愛釉裏紅釉，或和當時鈷料因進口貿易限制而稀缺。

劉良佑著1991年臺北出版《中國歷代陶瓷鑑賞‧4‧明官窰》22-23頁著錄了兩件臺北國立故宮博物院藏的玉壺春瓶，23頁圖版上的繪纏枝蓮花，22頁圖版玉壺春瓶上飾與此器相同的纏枝牡丹紋（圖一）。另外還有一件經著錄，繪纏枝牡丹紋的玉壺春瓶現藏北京故宮博物院，見2000年香港商務印書館出版故宮博物院藏文物珍品全集《青花釉裏紅‧上》圖版14（圖二）。美國費城藝術博物館藏一件繪菊花紋的玉壺春瓶。

所有這此玉壺春瓶足牆繪卷草紋，近足處環飾蓮瓣紋，如意雲肩紋，口沿下至頸繪蕉葉紋，下有回紋。臺北國立故宮博物院所藏纏枝番蓮紋玉壺春瓶肩上所的如意雲頭紋較大，並勾勒葉脈，但其他三件纏枝牡丹紋的和繪菊紋的如意雲肩紋較小，並滿填青花釉。這三件輔助紋式相仿的纏枝牡丹紋和繪菊紋的玉壺春瓶唯一不同之處是如意雲肩紋和回紋之間的紋飾。臺北故宮藏的在白地上重筆繪卷草紋；北京故宮的卷草紋以幼細的線條表達；美國費城藝術博物館所藏和本拍品上所繪的都是靈芝紋。

北京故宮博物院藏明洪武青花菊紋執壺的頸肩處繪靈芝紋，見故宮博物院藏文物珍品全集《青花釉裏紅‧上》圖版15。艾惕思爵士在他於1957-1959年第31冊「Transaction of the Oriental Ceramic Society」中發表的一篇關於裏紅釉的文章中指出：洪武的玉壺春瓶和執壺無論紋飾和樣式都非常相似，只是執壺上多了流、柄和蓋。三件由景德鎮禦窰廠遺址出土的青花執壺1996年於鴻禧美術館展出，見《景德鎮出土明初官窯瓷器》圖版2-4。其中兩件器腹通景繪洞石、竹等園林小景，另一件器腹繪纏枝菊花，如意雲肩上繪靈芝紋，有別於其他兩件的茶花紋，但與本拍品相似。出光美術館藏一纏枝牡丹紋執壺，如意雲肩上繪蓮花紋，另有一件菊花紋執壺2003年10月27日於香港佳士得拍賣，拍品627號，在如意雲肩上繪石榴紋（圖三）。

洪武玉壺春瓶造型優美，源自元朝的玉壺春瓶。洪武玉壺春瓶較元短粗、腹大下垂。在上文所提的艾惕思爵士的文章中指出：安徽合肥出土了元銀胎玉壺春瓶，瓷胎玉壺春瓶可能源自金屬器。

洪武玉壺春瓶無論是青花或釉裏紅器因胎體薄的關係器頸均非常脆弱，容易損壞。一件器頸斷裂，打磨過的繪纏枝菊紋玉壺春瓶1989年5月16日在香港蘇富比拍賣，拍品114號。故本拍品品相完美的洪武青花玉壺春瓶甚為難得。

此玉壺春瓶上其中一個另人賞心悅目的是豐滿逼真的牡丹花葉。洪武青花玉壺春瓶很少可以見到如此器上的花紋一樣枝葉飽滿，一般所見多枝葉單薄，留白甚多，而在釉裏紅器上的紋飾比較飽滿，於本拍賣較為接近。北京故宮博物院藏一件花葉豐滿，紋飾畫工與本拍品較為接近的釉裏紅牡丹紋玉壺春瓶，見故宮博物院藏文物珍品全集《青花釉裏紅‧上》圖版197，其如意雲肩紋和回紋之間也飾靈芝紋，北京故宮還藏一件釉裏紅牡丹紋執壺，其如意雲肩紋和回紋之間同樣飾靈芝紋。

從以上的例子中可見明洪武朝玉壺春瓶和執壺無論是青花還是釉裏紅都出自同一工匠、同一窰、同一時間。但像本拍品一樣發色均勻瑩潤、紋飾飽滿逼真、品相完美無暇者，非常罕見。


明洪武 青花纏枝牡丹紋玉壺春瓶

瓶撇口，長頸，垂腹，圈足外撇。通體青花紋飾，裏口沿繪忍冬紋一周，頸環蕉葉紋、回紋及靈芝紋，肩飾垂雲紋，腹繪四朵盛開的牡丹花，近足處飾蓮瓣紋一周，足牆環飾忍冬紋，與口沿內紋飾互相呼應。

此器造型端莊穩重，紋飾佈局疏朗，繁而不亂，承元朝之遺風，把象徵富貴的牡丹紋延續在明朝瓷器上。

傳世的洪武青花瓷器比釉裏紅器更為珍罕，如此瓶品相完美者絕無僅有。洪武官窰青花主要使用含鐵量低、含錳量高且淘煉欠精的國產青料，呈色青中帶有灰色調，發色也欠穩定，要燒製出如此器一樣發色均勻亮麗，紋飾清晰的瓷器也甚為難得。

從景德鎮出土的洪武朝青花瓷器的資料對比來看，青花瓷的器型與釉裏紅的器型雷同。2006年春季賭場大亨史提芬永利（Steve Wynn）於香港佳士得投得洪武釉裏紅纏枝牡丹紋玉壺春瓶與此器造型、紋飾及尺寸雷同， 並 創下了最高成交價明初瓷器的世界記錄。

Exhibited : The Chang Foundation, Taipei, Ching Wan Society Millennium Exhibition, 2000, illustrated in the Catalogue, p. 173, no. 78

Notes : The result of Oxford Authentication Ltd sample no. 866c58 is consistent with the dating of this lot.

A superb blue and white yuhuchunping by Rosemary Scott - International Academic Driector, Asian Art

Not only is this Hongwu vase well-fired and in excellent condition, but very rare since most of the few surviving Hongwu yuhuchunping are decorated in underglaze copper red, rather than the cobalt blue of the current vessel. Although recent excavations of the Hongwu strata at the imperial kilns at Jingdezhen have unearthed a greater number and wider range of porcelains decorated in underglaze cobalt blue than had been expected, nevertheless blue and white Hongwu porcelains are still considerably rarer than underglaze copper red wares. Various reasons have been suggested for this disproportionate number of copper red porcelains, including a predilection for the colour red on the part of the Hongwu emperor, and a scarcity of imported cobalt because of the restriction of foreign trade during the Hongwu period.

Two underglaze blue yuhuchunping from the collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei, have been published by Liu Liang-yu in A Survey of Chinese Ceramics 4 Ming Official Wares, Taipei, 1991, pp. 22-23. One of these Taipei vases is decorated with a lotus scroll (p. 23), while the other (p. 22) bears a similar peony scroll to that seen on the current vase. Only one other blue and white yuhuchunping from the Hongwu period with this peony design appears to have been published. This vase is preserved in the collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing (illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum - Blue and White Porcelain with Underglazed Red (I), Hong Kong, 2000, p. 16, pl. 14). A Hongwu blue and white yuhuchunping in the Philadelphia Museum of Art is illustrated by Margaret Medley in Yuan Porcelain and Stoneware, London, 1974, pl. 51b. This has chrysanthemums in its main decorative band.

All of these blue and white yuhuchunping have a classic scroll around the foot, a lotus petal band around the base of the vase, a lappet band around the shoulder, plantain leaves around the upper part of the neck extending beneath the flared mouth, and below the plantain a band of squared spirals. While the vase with lotus scroll in the National Palace Museum has a rather large-scale lappet band, with internal striations, on the shoulder, all three of those decorated with peony bands, as well as the vase with chrysanthemums, have much smaller-scale lappets, which are filled with solid blue colour. The point of departure from this homogeneous decorative scheme on the peony vases, and chrysanthemum vase, is found in the band that appears between the lappets and the squared spiral band. On the vase in the National Palace Museum this band contains a heavy white classic scroll reserved against a blue ground. On the vase in the Palace Museum Beijing the band contains a classic scroll painted in fine lines in underglaze blue. The current vase and the Philadelphia vase have perhaps the most accomplished bands, which contain finely-painted lingzhi fungus scrolls.

A similar lingzhi fungus scroll can be seen in a similar position on a pear-shaped ewer in the collection of the Palace Museum Beijing (illustrated The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum - Blue and White Porcelain with Underglazed Red (I), op. cit., p. 17, pl. 15). As Sir John Addis pointed out in his paper, "A Group of Underglaze Red", Transactions of the Oriental Ceramic Society, Vol. 31, 1957-1959, pp. 15-48, the pear-shaped vases and pear-shaped ewers of the Hongwu reign are very closely linked - the ewers essentially being the same form and decorative lay-out as the vases with the addition of spout, linking strut, handle and lid. Three Hongwu blue and white ewers, excavated from the site of the imperial kilns, were exhibited at the Chang Foundation in 1996 (see Imperial Hongwu and Yongle Porcelain excavated at Jingdezhen, Taipei, 1996, pp. 70-75, nos. 2-4). Two of these ewers have freely-painted designs of plants with rocks in a landscape setting as their main decorative band. One of these has a chrysanthemum scroll above the lappet band, while the other has a camellia band. The third excavated ewer has a chrysanthemum scroll as its major decorative band, while above the lappets is a lingzhi fungus band similar to that on the current vase. A ewer from the Idemitsu Collection, painted with very similar peony scrolls to those on the current vase, is illustrated in Sekai Toji Zenshu, vol. 14, Ming, Japan, 1976, pl. 1, and has a lotus scroll above the lappet band. Another ewer with chrysanthemums in the major band and a pomegranate scroll above the shoulder lappets, was sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 27 October 2003, lot 627.

Hongwu yuhuchunping are of a particularly elegant form, which developed from the Yuan dynasty pear-shaped vases. In contrast to the Yuan version of the form, the Hongwu vessels have a slightly lower centre of gravity and are wider around the body producing a greater contrast with the slender neck and providing a more accentuated s-shaped profile. Sir John Addis, op. cit., noted that silver Yuan dynasty pear-shaped vases were excavated at Hefei in Anhui province from a site datable to AD 1333, and it is possible that the form originated in metal. All Hongwu porcelain vases of this shape, whether decorated in underglaze cobalt blue or copper red, are particularly vulnerable to damage at their slender necks, where they are thinly potted. A vase of this form, painted with a chrysanthemum scroll in both its major decorative band and above the lappets, which had previously been damaged and reduced at the neck, was sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 16 May 1989, lot 114. It is extremely rare to find a Hongwu pear-shaped vase in the perfect condition of the current vase.

One of the particularly aesthetically pleasing features of the current vase is the richness of the leaves on the peony scroll. It is rare to find Hongwu blue and white vases of this type with boldly scrolling stems bearing flowers, although vases with similar decoration in underglaze-red are well known. While some blue and white vessels have peony scrolls with rather thin stems and somewhat meagre leaves, the copper-red versions tend to have more densely rendered leaves, filling the available white space more generously, in the manner that can be seen on the current blue and white vase. A pear-shaped vase with a similar ratio of underglaze decoration to white space as the current vase is a copper red example in the collection of the Palace Museum Beijing (illustrated The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum - Blue and White Porcelain with Underglazed Red (I), op. cit., p. 211, no. 196), which also shares with the current vase peonies in the main decorative band and a lingzhi fungus scroll above the lappet band. A Hongwu copper red pear-shaped ewer, also in the Palace Museum collection, shares a similar ratio of underglaze decoration to white space, as well as peony scrolls in the main decorative band and a lingzhi fungus scroll above the lappet band.
It seems clear that in the Hongwu reign pear-shaped vases and pear-shaped ewers decorated in underglaze cobalt blue and underglaze copper red were being made by the same craftsmen at the same kilns at the same time. However, of all these vessels underglaze blue vases like the current example are certainly the most rare.

Christie's. Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art. 1 December 2009. Hong Kong www.christies.com