A Longquan celadon 'peony' double-gourd vase, Southern Song - Yuan dynasty | 南宋至元　龍泉青釉貼花纏枝牡丹紋葫蘆瓶

Collection of Kawasaki Shozo (1837-1912).

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. 116 (unillustrated).

Choshunkaku kansho [Catalogue of the Kawasaki Collection], vol. 6, Tokyo, 1914, no. 42.

Kobayashi Tadashi, ed., Masterpieces of the Okada Museum of Art, vol. 1, Tokyo, 2013, no. 17.

This exquisite Longquan double-gourd vase, distinguished by its rarity and the elegant peony scrollwork that decorates both bulbs, showcases a mastery of craft with clearly defined veining visible through the glaze, all executed with delicate finesse. Its graceful silhouette, exceptional glaze, and intricate decoration set it apart from other Longquan pieces of the era.

Symbolic of prosperity ("fu lu 福祿") through its phonetic resemblance and abundant seeds representing fertility, the double-gourd form has been treasured throughout history. Molded and applied decorations on Longquan ware, which became prominent during the Yuan period, were first introduced in the late Southern Song dynasty. 

Strategically positioned near trading ports like Wenzhou and Quanzhou, the Longquan kilns in southern Zhejiang, extending into northern Fujian, facilitated extensive export across East Asia, Southeast Asia, India, the Middle East, and Africa. The Ottoman court in Istanbul particularly esteemed the lustrous celadon glaze of these ceramics, evident from two larger double-gourd vases with peony reliefs, though slightly coarser and fitted with Ottoman metal mounts, preserved at the Topkapi Saray Museum as illustrated in Regina Krahl’s Chinese Ceramics in the Topkapi Saray Museum Istanbul, vol. 1, London, 1986, plates 202 and 203.

Comparable pieces including a vase at the Hatakeyama Memorial Museum of Fine Art, Tokyo, illustrated in Hatakeyama Hisato, Tsutaetai, bi no kioku, Tokyo, 2011, pl. 32; a similar vase from the Dexingshuwu Collection, sold at Christie's Hong Kong on 30th October 1995, lot 679A, and subsequently at our New York rooms on 18th March 2008, lot 106; another larger example with a flared mouth sold at our New York rooms on 30th March 2006, lot 57; one in the Datong Municipal Museum, Shanxi Province, illustrated in Zhongguo taoci quanji [Complete series on Chinese ceramics], vol. 10, Shanghai, 2000, pl. 34; and another in the National Museum of China, Beijing, published in Longquan qingci [Longquan celadon of China], Beijing, 1966, col. pl. 18; an undecorated excavated example from Qingtian county, Zhejiang province, is also illustrated in Zhongguo taoci quanji, pl. 35; additionally, a vase formerly in the collections of the Asada family, Tokyo Bijutsu Club, and Meiyintang, sold twice at these rooms, first on 2nd May 2005, lot 676, and again on 5th October 2011, lot 6.

來源

川崎正蔵（1837-1912年）收藏

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116（沒載圖）

出版

《長春閣鑑賞》，第6集，東京，1914年，編號42

小林忠編，《岡田美術館名品撰》，卷1，東京，2013年，編號17

此式龍泉窰葫蘆瓶造型秀雅祥瑞，上下雙腹皆飾牡丹纏枝紋者尤為珍罕。此瓶所飾枝葉脈絡透過釉層清晰可辨，圖案處理含蓄典雅。器形婉約，釉色臻妙，紋飾精絕，使之卓然於同期龍泉諸器之上。龍泉窰模印貼花裝飾始見於南宋晚期，至元代開始盛行且產量大增。葫蘆形制因諧音「福祿」，且籽粒繁多象征繁衍昌盛，歷來為世所珍。 

龍泉窰址遍布浙南，遠及閩北，毗鄰溫州、泉州等貿易港口，其產品得以遠銷東亞、東南亞、印度、中東乃至非洲。伊斯坦布爾奧斯曼宮廷尤癡迷青瓷翠釉，托普卡帕宮現藏兩件較大型牡丹纏枝紋凸花葫蘆瓶，形制稍粗，配奧斯曼金屬附件，即屬此例，詳見康蕊君《伊斯坦布爾托普卡帕宮藏中國陶瓷》卷一，倫敦，1986年，圖版202及203。

東京畠山紀念館藏一例類例，見畠山直哉《伝えたい、美の記憶》，東京，2011年，圖版32。另可參照德馨書屋舊藏一例，先售於香港佳士得1995年10月30日，編號679A，後售於紐約蘇富比，2008年3月18日，編號106；另可參考口沿外撇之較大一例，2006年3月30日售於紐約蘇富比，編號57；山西大同市博物館藏一例亦資參考，載於《中國陶瓷全集》，卷10，上海，2000年，圖版34；中國國家博物館藏一例，見《龍泉青瓷》，北京，1966年，彩版18。浙江青田出土素面葫蘆瓶亦可比較之，載前揭《中國陶瓷全集》，圖版35；另見淺田家族、東京美術俱樂部、玫茵堂遞藏一例，兩度售於香港蘇富比，2005年5月2日，編號拍品676及2011年10月5日，編號6。