A fine and rare copper-red decorated 'chilong' double-gourd vase, Seal mark and period of Qianlong | 清乾隆　釉裏紅團螭靈芝紋葫蘆瓶　《大清乾隆年製》款

Collection of Empress Teimei (1884-1951), according to the letter enclosed in the box.

Collection of Yasumichi Kato (1879-1971), according to the letter enclosed in the box.

Kochukyo Co., Ltd, Tokyo.

5th Anniversary Exhibition. All-Stars of the Okada Collection: Masterworks of Korin, Jakuchu, Hokusai and the Ru Ware Kilns, Okada Museum of Art, Hakone, 2018-19, exh. no. 141 (unillustrated).

Kobayashi Tadashi, ed., Masterpieces of the Okada Museum of Art, vol. 1, Tokyo, 2013, no. 36.

Chinese translation of the letter:

奉天皇陛下，及秩父宮、高松宮、三笠宮三位殿下旨，依貞明皇后遺品別錄清單所示恩賜御物，臣恭承聖意，特此傳達。

The practice of underglaze red decoration, initially favoured during the early Ming dynasty but largely discontinued after the Xuande period due to a high failure rate during firing, was revived during the early Qing dynasty around the 1670s during the Kangxi period. Despite improvements, the production of wares featuring this copper pigment remained challenging, and thus these pieces were made in limited quantities, maintaining their status as prestigious items in Qing imperial porcelain collections.

Porcelains from the Qianlong period exclusively painted in copper-red enamel are exceedingly rare, and the current piece is particularly notable for its auspicious double-gourd shape and the elaborate chi dragon roundel design on its body. Comparable examples include a pair displayed in the Sui’anshi (Room of Finding Peace) within the Yangxindian (Hall of Cultivating Mind) at the Forbidden City in Beijing, where the emperor would reside during fasting periods. This setting is illustrated in Qingdai gongting shenghuo/Life in the Forbidden City, Hong Kong, 1985, pl. 177. Compare also two highly close examples sold in these rooms on 29th November 1976, lot 499 and on 29th April 2022, lot 8 respectively, the latter was illustrated in Sotheby's Hong Kong – Twenty Years, 1973-1993, Hong Kong, 1993, pl. 197 and Sotheby's. Thirty Years in Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 2003, pl. 294. See also one sold in Christie’s London on 28th July 1975, lot 213.

Additionally, there are other versions of Qianlong mark and period double-gourd vases, such as those adorned with dragons amidst clouds in underglazed copper-red. See an example from the T.Y. Chao collection, illustrated in Ming and Ch'ing Porcelain from the Collection of the T.Y. Chao Family Foundation Exhibition, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong 1978, cat. no. 781, and sold times in these rooms: 17th November 1975, lot 222; 18th November 1986, lot 71; and again on 2nd April 2018, lot 3203. Another similar vase was sold in our London rooms on 20th June 2001, lot 23, and again on 9th October 2007, lot 1216.

The diversity of the Qianlong vases is further demonstrated in those painted with a continuous lotus scroll motif. Noteworthy instances include a piece from the collections of Julius David Ichenhausern (1858-1910), New York, and Sir William Cornelius Van Horne (1843-1915), which was sold at Christie's New York on 16th September 2011, lot 1564; and another from the Daae collection featured in the exhibition Daae Samlingen at the Kunstindustrimuseet in Oslo, 1989, p. 37.

來源

貞明皇后（1884-1951年）收藏，據盒中信函

加藤泰通子爵（1879-1971年）收藏，據盒中信函

壺中居，東京

展覽

《開館5周年記念展―美のスターたち―光琳．若冲．北斎．汝窯など名品勢ぞろい》， 岡田美術館，箱根，2018-19年，展覽編號141（沒載圖）

出版

小林忠編，《岡田美術館名品撰》，卷1，東京，2013年，編號36

釉裏紅軔於元末明初，雖備受推崇卻因燒成率極低而於宣德後幾近中斷，直至清康熙朝方得覆興。縱有技術改良，燒製銅紅釉仍屬不易，故產量有限，終清一代皆為御窰珍品。

乾隆朝單色釉裏紅器寥若晨星，本品更兼葫蘆祥瑞之形與螭龍團紋之飾，愈顯珍異。北京紫禁城養心殿隨安室內陳設一對同類器可資參考，該處為帝王齋戒居所，此對常伴帝王左右，可見其珍，參見《清代宮廷生活》，香港，1985年，圖版177。另可比照香港蘇富比1976年11月29日售出一件，編號499號與2022年4月29日售出一件，編號8，後者曾刊於《香港蘇富比二十週年》，香港，1993年，圖版197及《香港蘇富比三十週年》，香港，2003年，圖版294。倫敦佳士得1975年7月28日售出一件亦資參考，編號213號。

乾隆款識葫蘆瓶尚有其他釉裏紅變體，如繪海水祥雲游龍者。可比較趙從衍家族舊藏一例，見香港藝術館，《趙從衍基金會藏明清陶瓷》，香港，1978年，編號781，並三度經香港蘇富比釋出：1975年11月17日拍品222號、1986年11月18日拍品71號及2018年4月2日拍品3203號。另見倫敦蘇富比2001年6月20日售出一件，編號23，後售於香港蘇富比，2007年10月9日，編號1216。

同類器物之變體，又有纏枝蓮紋者：紐約朱利葉斯·大衛·伊肯豪澤（1858-1910年）與威廉·科尼利厄斯·範霍恩爵士（1843-1915年）舊藏一例，2011年9月16日售於紐約佳士得，編號1564；奧斯陸工藝博物館藏一件亦可比較之，見《Daae Samlingen》，奧斯陸，1989年，頁37。