A very rare transparent-glazed 'parrot' cup, Sui - early Tang dynasty | 隋至唐初　白瓷鸚鵡盃

Uragami Sokyu-do Co., Ltd, Tokyo.

Inki: Hai, Wan, Taku [Drinking Vessels: Cups, bowls and saucers], Kuboso Memorial Museum of Arts, Osaka, 1989, cat. no. 124.

Special Exhibition. Chinese Ceramics, Tokyo National Museum, Tokyo, 1994, cat. no. 136.

Song Ceramics, Tobu Museum of Art, Tokyo; Museum of Oriental Ceramics, Osaka; and Hagi Uragami Museum, Hagi, 1999, cat. no. 52.

Special Triennal Tobi Art Fair, Tokyo Bijutsu Club, Tokyo, 2004, pp. 57-58.

The 30th Anniversary of Uragami Sokyu-do, Uragami Sokyu-do Co., Ltd, Tokyo, 2009, p. 136.

Uragami Mitsuru, Kobijutsusho ni manabu Chugoku Chosentoji no Mikata Erabikata [A Dealer's Eyes: Appreciating and Collecting Chinese and Korean Ceramics], Uragami Sokyu-do Co., Ltd, Tokyo, 2011, pp. 76-77.

Parrot-shaped cups of this form are exceedingly rare. The term yingwu bei, literally 'parrot cup,' is first documented as early as the Sui dynasty in a poem by Xue Daoheng: "Together pour the fine buttery wine; together tip the parrot cup." The term reappears in Tang poetry, such as in a poem by Luo Binwang:"The playing of flutes on the Phoenix Tower has ceased, the urgings to drink wine from the parrot cup has stopped."

The contemporary dictionary interpretation of the term yingwu bei, derived from a Tang source, suggests it refers to a cup made from yingwu luo ('parrot snail'), potentially indicating a nautilus shell. This cup’s exterior form, resembling the shape and size of a nautilus shell while fashioned as a parrot, suggests that such vessels may have been created as an amusing play on words, blending the literal and figurative meanings.

Many ceramics from the Sui and Tang dynasties showcase the incredible creativity and cosmopolitan nature of the period’s arts and culture. Decorative elements inspired by foreign influences, as well as novel vessel shapes, were explored by potters catering to sophisticated metropolitan markets. A white-glazed parrot-shaped cup, dated to the Sui dynasty and excavated from the Guanbei kiln site in Neiqiu County, now housed in the Hebei Provincial Institute of Archaeology, serves as a notable reference. This piece is illustrated in The Research on Celadon of Yue Kiln and White-glazed Porcelain of Xing Kiln, Ancient Chinese Ceramic Society, Beijing, p. 295, pl. II.

A related ochre-glazed ‘parrot’ cup from the Tang dynasty, formerly in the collection of Professor Conrad Harris, was sold at Bonhams London, 5th November, lot 14. See another closely related white-glazed ‘parrot’ cup from the Feng Wen Tang collection, sold at Bonhams Hong Kong, 9th October 2014, lot 140.

來源

浦上蒼穹堂，東京

展覽

《飲器：杯．碗．托》，和泉市久保惣記念美術館，大阪，1989年，編號124

《特別展—中国の陶磁》，東京國立博物館，東京，1994年，編號136

《宋磁―神品とよばれたやきもの》，東武美術館，東京、大阪市立東洋陶磁美術館，大阪、山口県立萩美術館．浦上記念館，萩市，1999年，編號52

《第16回東美特別展》，東京美術倶樂部，東京，2004年，頁57-58

出版

《浦上蒼穹堂30周年記念》，浦上蒼穹堂，東京，2009年，頁136

浦上満，《古美術商にまなぶ中国．朝鮮古陶磁の見かた、選びかた》，浦上蒼穹堂，東京，2011年，頁76-77

盃呈塑貼鸚鵡形，其翼伸展成盃，小眼尖嘴，雙足藏於器內，外翼略有細節，是具像及實用的結合器，混然天成。通體施透明釉，瑩潔雅致。「鸚鵡盃」一詞最早見於隋代薛道衡的詩句中：「共酌瓊酥酒，同傾鸚鵡盃。」此詞亦於唐代詩人駱賓王的詩句中再次出現：「鳳凰樓上罷吹簫，鸚鵡盃中休勸酒。」

根據唐代文獻的解釋，「鸚鵡盃」一詞可能指由「鸚鵡螺」製成的盃，或許暗指鸚鵡螺殼。此盃的外形類似鸚鵡螺殼的形狀與大小，但實際上以鸚鵡形塑造，可能是基於雙關語趣味而製作的一種器物。

隋唐時期的陶瓷作品展示了當時工匠非凡的創造力，也反映此時期藝術文化的包容性。許多元素受西方外來器物影響，而創新的器形則迎合宮廷及民間審美要求。對比一件隋代白釉鸚鵡形盃，出土於內丘縣關陂窰址，現藏於河北省文物研究所，見中國古陶瓷學會編，《越窯青瓷與邢窯白瓷研究》，北京，2013年，頁295，圖版2。傳世之例，見一件唐代赭釉鸚鵡盃，曾屬康拉德·哈里斯教授收藏，於倫敦邦瀚斯拍賣，2019年11月5日拍品編號14。另見一與本拍品相似的一白釉鸚鵡盃，曾為奉文堂舊藏，於香港邦瀚斯出售，2014年10月9日拍品編號140。