A very rare wucai 'dragon' brush handle, Ming dynasty, Wanli period | 明萬曆　五彩雲龍紋筆管

Collection of Dr. Carl Kempe (1884-1967).

Eskenazi Ltd, London, 1993.

The Meiyintang Collection.

Sotheby's Hong Kong, 5th October 2011, lot 38.

Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, British Museum, London, 1994.

Evolution to Perfection. Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, Sporting d'Hiver, Monte Carlo, 1996, cat. no. 135.

Bo Gyllensvärd, Chinese Ceramics in the Carl Kempe Collection, Stockholm, 1964, no. 852.

Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, vol. 2, London, 1994-2010, no. 708.

Produced at the very height of wucai (‘five colour’) decoration, the present brush handle exemplifies the scholarly taste and bold design language of the Wanli reign (1573–1620). Ascending the throne at the age of just ten, the young Wanli Emperor was raised in many ways like any other scholarly child, with a broad education in history, Confucianism and – of course – calligraphy. A contemporary of famed scholar-artists Dong Qichang (1555–1636), Chen Jiru (1558–1639) and Xu Wei (1521–1593), the Wanli Emperor ruled an empire of exceptional calligraphy and brushpainting and, as a result, the imperial kilns saw an ever increasing demand for scholars’ objects to furnish the imperial studios.

Surviving wucai brush handles of this period are extremely rare. A related example of Wanli mark and period in the Palace Museum, Taiwan, is published in Minji meihin zuroku. Kaiseiyō, Ryukeiyō, Manrekiyō [Illustrated catalogue of important Ming porcelains. Jiajing, Longqing and Wanli wares], Tokyo, 1978, pl. 109. Also compare two unmarked blue-and-white brush handles of similar shape and date in the Shanghai Museum, illustrated in Lu Minghua, Shanghai Bowuguan zangpin yanjiu daxi/Studies of the Shanghai Museum Collections : A Series of Monographs. Mingdai guanyao ciqi [Ming imperial porcelain], Shanghai, 2007, pls. 1-87 and 1-88; and a brush handle and cap of cylindrical form of Wanli mark and period, also sold from the Meiyintang Collection in these rooms, 4th April 2012, lot 34, alongside a matching brush tray, lot 33.

來源

卡爾肯普博士（1884-1967年）收藏

埃斯卡納齊，倫敦，1993年

玫茵堂收藏

香港蘇富比2011年10月5日，編號38

展覽

《Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection》，大英博物館，倫敦，1994年

《Evolution to Perfection. Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection》，Sporting d'Hiver，蒙地卡羅，1996年，編號135

出版

Bo Gyllensvärd，《Chinese Ceramics in the Carl Kempe Collection》，斯德哥爾摩，1964年，編號852

康蕊君，《玫茵堂藏中國陶瓷》，卷2，倫敦，1994-2010 年，編號708

此件筆管製作於五彩工藝鼎盛時期，完美詮釋萬曆朝之文人審美與大膽奔放的設計語言。萬曆帝十歲登基，自幼如尋常士子般接受經史子集與書法教育，其治下正值董其昌（1555-1636年）、陳繼儒（1558-1639年）、徐渭（1521-1593年）等文人藝術家活躍之時，宮廷對文房用器需求因而大增。

存世萬曆五彩筆管極為罕見。可比實例包括：台北故宮博物院藏一件萬曆款筆管，參見《明瓷名品図録．嘉靖．隆慶．萬曆》，東京，1978年，圖版109。另可對照上海博物館藏兩件相近形制無款青花筆管，參見陸明華，《上海博物館藏品研究大系：明代官窰瓷器》，上海，2007年，圖版1-87及1-88；以及玫茵堂舊藏萬曆款帶蓋筆管，2012年4月4日售於香港蘇富比，編號34，同期釋出之配套筆掭，編號33號，亦資參考。