An extremely rare sancai-glazed hawk-form ewer, Tang dynasty, 8th century | 唐八世紀　三彩鷹形壺

A Japanese private collection.

Kochukyo Co., Ltd, Tokyo.

Special Exhibition. Chinese Ceramics, Tokyo National Museum, Tokyo, 1994, cat. no. 107.

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. 24 (unillustrated).

Kobayashi Tadashi, ed., Masterpieces of the Okada Museum of Art, vol. 2, Tokyo, 2018, no. 3.

Hawking was a prestigious activity in China, notably during the Tang dynasty, where hawks were revered and used for hunting, kept in the palace mews alongside hunting dogs. The sport was especially popular during the reign of Emperor Tang Xuanzong (713-756), when this ewer was likely crafted. This period is noted for its hawk-themed art and poetry, see further discussion in Edward H. Schafer, The Golden Peaches of Samarkand, Los Angeles, 1963, pp. 93-96.

Ewers modelled as hawks or any realistic bird form are rare in Tang pottery. Compare two highly close examples: one from the Meiyintang Collection, illustrated in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, vol. 3 (I), London, 2006, no. 1315, and another exhibited at the Tokyo National Museum, illustrated in Chugoku no toji/Special Exhibition of Chinese Ceramics, Tokyo, 1994, cat. no. 107.

The bird-shaped ewer, inspired by Persian metalwork traditions, reflects the extensive cultural exchange during the Tang dynasty facilitated by the Silk Route. These Persian 'wine birds', used in wine libations, are elaborately discussed by A.S. Melikian-Chirvani in ‘The Wine Birds of Iran’, Bulletin of the Asian Institute, vol. 9, 1995. Artistic depictions from the era often include such ewers, as seen on a sancai-glazed camel from a Tang dynasty tomb at Guanlin, illustrated in Luoyang Tang Sancai [Luoyang Tang Tri-color Wares] , Beijing, 1980, pl. 80. Margaret Medley illustrates in Metalwork and Chinese Ceramics (London, 1972, p. 4) a related phoenix-headed ewer among other Chinese bird-headed ewers and a Sasanian silver ewer, underscoring the deep Persian influence on Chinese ceramics following diplomatic engagements between the Sasanian Empire and Sui-dynasty China in the late 6th century. Bo Gyllensvärd also illustrates a related sancai-glazed ewer alongside two Sasanian silver prototypes and an early Tang dragon-headed example (possibly silver) from the Horyuji Temple, Nara, in his work T'ang Gold and Silver, Stockholm, 1958, figs 23d, 23g, 23h, and 23b.

來源

日本私人收藏

壺中居，東京

展覽

《特別展—中国の陶磁》，東京國立博物館，東京，1994年，編號107

《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24（沒載圖）

出版

小林忠編，《岡田美術館名品撰》，卷2，東京，2018年，編號3

獵鷹活動在中國古代備受尊崇，尤以唐玄宗在位期間（713-756年）為盛。當時宮廷專設鷹坊，蓄養獵鷹與獵犬，此件執壺即可能製作於這一時期。薛愛華在《撒馬爾罕的金桃》（洛杉磯，1963年，頁93-96）中詳述了唐代以獵鷹為主題的藝術創作與詩歌風尚。

以鷹或其他寫實鳥類造型的唐代陶製執壺極為罕見。遍索公私收藏，可資比較者似乎僅有二件：玫茵堂藏一例，見康蕊君，《玫茵堂藏中國陶瓷》，卷3之1，倫敦，2006年，編號1315；及東京國立博物館展覽一件，見，《中國陶瓷特別展》，東京，1994年編號107。

此類鳥形執壺的創作靈感源自波斯金屬器傳統，反映了唐代絲綢之路促進的文化交流。正如麥利克-奇爾瓦尼在《The Wine Birds of Iran》（伊朗的酒鳥）（載於《亞洲研究所學報》，卷9，1995年）所述，這些波斯「酒鳥」器乃祭酒儀式用具。唐代藝術中亦常見此類器皿，如洛陽關林唐墓出土的三彩駱駝載樂俑上駝峰所負一件執壺，見《洛陽唐三彩》，北京，1980年，圖版80。瑪格麗特·梅德利在《Metalwork and Chinese Ceramics》（金屬工藝與中國陶瓷）中亦將一件鳳首執壺與薩珊銀器並列刊載，印證了六世紀末薩珊波斯與隋朝建交後，波斯藝術對中國陶瓷的深遠影響。波·葉林斯沃德更將一件三彩執壺與兩件薩珊銀器原型及奈良法隆寺藏唐代銀製龍首壺並列比較，進一步佐證了這一文化交融現象，見波·葉林斯沃德，《T'ang Gold and Silver》（唐代金銀器），斯德哥爾摩，1958年，圖23d、23g、23h及23b。