An extremely rare doucai 'grapevine' stem cup, Ming dynasty, Wanli period | 明萬曆　鬪彩葡萄紋高足盃　《大明成化年製》仿款

Sotheby's Hong Kong, 7th October 2006, lot 922.

The present stem cup is a very rare example of Chenghua-style porcelain and appears to be the only one of its kind in private hands. Only one other museum example is recorded, now preserved in the British Museum (accession no. 1968,0422.43), with a metal-bound rim and formerly in the Sedgwick Collection.

Cups of this design were first produced in the 15th century, and the strong influence of Chenghua doucai designs on later wares is evident in this Wanli stem cup, which closely follows the Chenghua style in shape, decoration, and even in mark inscriptions. This aesthetic continuity was driven primarily by the social esteem and collecting culture surrounding Chenghua wares: Chenghua porcelain was revered for its remarkable quality and held in high regard during the Wanli period. By the Wanli period, about a century after Chenghua porcelains were first made, these pieces had already become collectors' items, and contemporary commentaries reflect their desirability and prestige throughout the late Ming dynasty.

Shen Defu (1578-1642), a notable official, wrote in Wanli ye huo bian [Unofficial Gleanings of the Wanli Era]: "As for porcelain wares, today Chenghua wares are the most highly valued, surpassing those of Xuande [...] Yet, since coming to the capital, I have seen pairs of Chenghua wine cups fetching over a hundred taels of silver, which left me utterly astonished and at a loss for words". In the same period, Gao Lian, a Chinese writer and encyclopedist, recorded in Zunsheng Bajian [Eight Treatises on the Nurturing of Life], published in the nineteenth year of the Wanli reign (1591): "Among the finest Chenghua wares, none surpasses the doucai grapevine cup with a flared rim and flattened body; the form is far superior to the Xuande cup." By the mid-Wanli period, the doucai grapevine stem cup had become the preeminent wine cup, far surpassing the now-well-known chicken cup and earning acclaim as the "finest Chenghua ware.

For Chenghua mark and period stem cups of this design, see one preserved in the Beijing Palace Museum (accession no. gu 145656), three in the Taipei Palace Museum (accession nos guci 3545N, 3546N, 3547N), and one in the Sir Percival David Collection in the British Museum (accession no. PDF A779).

來源

香港蘇富比2006年10月7日，編號922

此高足盃實為成化風格瓷器中至罕之例，或為私人收藏中僅見者。現存唯一可資比對之博物館藏例現為大英博物館藏品（館藏編號1968,0422.43），配有金屬釦，原屬塞奇威克舊藏。

此類器形始創於十五世紀，本品雖為萬曆朝作品，卻在造型、紋飾乃至款識書寫上均忠實承襲成化風格，足見成化闘彩對後世瓷器之深遠影響。此種審美得以延續主要源於成化瓷器在社會上的崇高地位與收藏文化：成化瓷以卓越品質著稱，至萬曆時仍備受推崇。當成化瓷燒造百年之後，萬曆年間的文人筆記充分反映了這些作品在晚明時期的收藏熱度與非凡地位。

萬曆時官員沈德符（1578-1642年）於《萬曆野獲編》中記載：「窰器最貴成化，次則宣德 [...] 然京師成化盃一對值銀百兩，余初駭之，無言可對」。同時期文人高濂在其萬曆十九年（1591年）刊行的《遵生八箋》中亦載：「成窰上品無過闘彩葡萄敞口扁肚靶盃，式較宣盃妙甚」。至萬曆中期，此式闘彩葡萄紋高足盃已超越著名的雞缸盃，被推崇為成窰之冠。

可比較數例成化本朝款高足盃：北京故宮博物院藏一例（館藏編號：故145656）、台北故宮博物院藏三例（館藏編號：故瓷3545N、3546N、3547N），以及大英博物館大維德基金會藏一例（館藏編號：PDF A779）。