A very rare wucai 'dragon' garlic-mouth vase, Mark and period of Wanli | 明萬曆　五彩穿花龍紋蒜頭瓶　《大明萬曆年製》款

Sotheby's Los Angeles, 2nd November 1981, lot 304 and cover.

Collection of the Chang Foundation, Taipei.

Treasures from the Chang Foundation, National Museum of Chinese History, Beijing, 1996, cat. no. 26.

Chang Foundation Inaugural Catalogue, Chang Foundation, Taipei, 1990, p. 50.

Selected Chinese Ceramics from Han to Qing Dynasties, Chang Foundation, Taipei, 1990, cat. no. 110.

Wucai porcelain of the Wanli period (1573-1620) represents one of the most resplendent achievements of the Ming dynasty, characterised by sumptuous decoration, bold palettes, and lively compositions. Among the finest examples are garlic-mouthed vases, whose distinctive form derives from ancient bronze prototypes, and whose surfaces are enlivened with brilliantly painted designs.

The present vase, magnificent in scale and potting, is decorated with animated dragons swirling across the body, their graceful movements heightened by richly coloured floral scrolls and flaming pearls which provide a dynamic and auspicious backdrop. The contrast between the vigorous dragons on the main register and the more refined imagery of birds and blossoms on the neck reflects both technical mastery and artistic sensitivity. Such designs were closely aligned with imperial taste, with dragons in particular serving as potent emblems of authority and longevity, also frequently seen in contemporary textiles and court art; see Jessica Harrison-Hall, Catalogue of Late Yuan and Ming Ceramics in the British Museum, London, 2001, p. 335.

Vases of this type are exceptionally rare and have long attracted the interest of scholars and collectors. Notable examples are preserved in major collections worldwide, including one in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Imperial Porcelains from the Reign of Jiajing, Longqing and Wanli in the Ming Dynasty, vol. II, Beijing, 2018, pl. 391, with lingzhi scrolls to the neck; another preserved in the Palace Museum, Taipei, published in Minji meihin zuroku, vol. III, Tokyo, 1978, pl. 99; and another formerly in the Lindley Scott Collection, later in the Avery Brundage collection, illustrated in Soame Jenyns, Ming Pottery and Porcelain, London, 1988, pl. 187. Also compare a larger vase of related dragon design housed at the Fondation Baur, Geneva, published in John Ayers, The Baur Collection, vol. II, Geneva, 1969, pl. A203.

While the present twin-dragon design is among the most coveted of wucai decorations, other design variations are also well attested on vases of this form, including matched pairs of dragons and phoenix— symbolic of cosmic harmony. Compare one such example in the Matsuoka Museum of Art, Tokyo, published in Toyo toji meihin zuroku [Catalogue of masterpieces of Oriental ceramics], Matsuoka Bijutsukan, Tokyo, 1991, pl. 94; and another from the collection of A. A. Ballard, sold at Christie’s London, 9th June 1975, lot 79. Other vases of this type bear designs of birds and waterfowl, including a pair in the Idemitsu Museum of Arts, Tokyo, included in Imperial Overglaze-Enamelled Wares in the Late Ming Dynasty, Museum of Oriental Ceramics, Osaka, 1995, cat. no. 22; and another in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Imperial Porcelains, op. cit., pl. 394, alongside a larger (54.5 cm) example of related design. Also compare two further larger examples of waterfowl design in the Palace Museum, Taipei, in Minji meihin zuroku, op. cit, pl. 100, and Liu Liang-yu, Ming Official Wares, Taipei, 1991, p. 255 (top right) respectively; and another slightly smaller (40.3cm) example decorated with swimming fish, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, Imperial Porcelains, op. cit., pl. 395.

The enduring appeal of Wanli wucai garlic-mouthed vases lies in their synthesis of technical virtuosity, symbolic power, and historical resonance. They stand as striking testaments to the opulence of late Ming courtly taste, embodying both the grandeur of imperial patronage and the creative vitality of Jingdezhen’s potters – swirling with life and marked with the eternal symbol of the Emperor himself; the benevolent five-clawed dragon.

來源

洛杉磯蘇富比1981年11月2日，編號304及封面

鴻禧美術館收藏，台北

展覽

《鴻禧集珍》，中國歷史博物館，北京，1996年，編號26

出版

《鴻禧美術館開館紀念選集》，鴻禧美術館，台北，1990年，頁50

《中國歷代陶瓷選集》，鴻禧美術館，台北，1990年，編號110

萬曆朝五彩瓷，紋飾豐富，色彩鮮明，構圖生動，活力洋溢，可謂明代瓷史中最華麗耀眼者。其中尤其精湛之作如蒜頭瓶，取材古青銅器形，綴以華美繽紛的紋飾。

本品碩大端正，瓶腹飾雙龍搶珠，穿梭悠遊於纏枝花葉紋間，動感十足且熱鬧繁複。對比器頸花鳥紋飾，閒適疏朗，一動一靜，意趣橫生，不僅展現工藝嫻熟，且突顯審美趣味。紋飾皆與當朝帝王品味息息相關，龍紋象徵王權，祝意高壽，常見於萬曆朝織品與宮廷藝術品；見霍吉淑，《Catalogue of Late Yuan and Ming Ceramics in the British Museum》，倫敦，2001年，頁335。

五彩蒜頭瓶甚稀，廣得學者及鑑藏家傾慕，重要博物館藏品如，北京故宮博物院藏例，刊於《明代嘉靖隆慶萬曆御窰瓷器》，下卷，北京，2018年，圖版391，頸飾如意雲頭紋；台北故宮博物院藏一瓶，出版於《明磁名品図錄》，卷3，東京，1978年，圖版99；Lindley-Scott 故藏一瓶，尺寸略小，售於倫敦蘇富比1945年7月4日，編號80，載於 Soame Jenyns，《Ming Pottery and Porcelain》，倫敦，1988年，圖版187。還有一例，尺寸較大，藏於日內瓦鮑氏東方藝術館，見John Ayers，《The Baur Collection. Geneva》，卷2，日內瓦，1969年，圖版A203。

雙龍搶珠紋廣用于萬曆五彩瓷，類同蒜頭瓶亦見其他紋飾，如龍鳳紋，象徵陰陽和諧，見東京松岡美術館藏一例，出版於《東洋陶磁名品図錄》，松岡美術館，東京，1991年，圖版94；另一瓶出自 A. A. Ballard 舊藏，1975年6月9日，售於倫敦佳士得，編號79。萬曆蒜頭瓶另一常見紋飾為飛禽水鳥，參考東京出光美術館藏一對瓶例，展《嘉靖、萬曆の赤絵》，東洋陶磁美術館，大阪，1995年，編號22；北京故宮博物院見一例，載於《明代嘉靖隆慶萬曆御窰瓷器》，前述出處，圖版394，同錄一例尺寸較大（54.5公分），紋飾相類。台北故宮博物院藏兩件尺寸較大蒜頭瓶例，其一錄《明磁名品図錄》，前述出處，圖版100，其二刊於劉良佑，《中國歷代陶瓷鑑賞．明官窰》，台北，1991年，頁255（右上）。北京故宮博物院還有一例，繪游魚，略小（40.3公分），《明代嘉靖隆慶萬曆御窰瓷器》，前述出處，圖版395。

萬曆五彩蒜頭瓶，匯集工藝技術、紋飾象徵、歷史價值，展現晚明宮廷審美，呼應帝王品味，並反映御窰蓬勃之貌，一如瓶上象徵皇室的五爪祥龍，生趣盎然，活力豐沛。