A Shiwan Jun-imitation scroll-form vase, Late Ming dynasty | 明末　石灣仿鈞窰天藍釉書卷式花插

A Hong Kong private collection.

Shek-wan Pottery, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1977, cat. no. 77.

Renowned for their versatility, the Shiwan kilns in Foshan, Guangdong province, produced a wide range of wares, including figural sculptures and celebrated imitations of Jun ceramics from the late Ming period onward. The kilns reached their height of production in the 18th and 19th centuries during the Qing dynasty and remained active into the Republican period.

Situated in hilly terrain unsuited to large-scale farming, Shiwan benefited instead from abundant wood for kiln fuel and easy river access for transporting finished wares. These natural advantages supported a thriving industry that served both domestic and overseas markets, with exports reaching Southeast Asia, Europe, and North America. The potters typically worked with highly plastic, iron-rich grey clay imported from Dongguan, combined with locally sourced coarse sand. Finished vessels were either left biscuit-fired, giving the ware its characteristic dark buff surface, or coated with thick lustrous glazes, as exemplified by the present piece.

Surviving Shiwan wares from the Ming dynasty, such as the present example, are rare. Rarer still is the vessel’s inventive form, which departs from the typical Jun repertoire and speaks to the creative range of the Shiwan kilns. Instead of the more commonly encountered narcissus bowl, it is conceived as a vase of rolled scrolls bound at the front with a knotted ribbon and detailed with a mock scroll slip. For Shiwan Jun-type narcissus bowls from the Ming dynasty, see two examples in the Beijing Palace Museum, illustrated in Selection of Jun Ware: the Palace Museum's Collection and Archaeological Excavation, Palace Museum, Beijing, 2013, pls 124 and 125.

This vessel was also included in the landmark exhibition on Shiwan ceramic art at the Hong Kong Museum of Art.

來源

香港私人收藏

展覽

《石灣陶藝》，香港藝術館，香港，1977年，編號77

廣東佛山石灣窰以題材與器類多樣著稱，自明末以來燒造甚繁，尤以人物塑像及仿宋代鈞釉諸器最具代表性。清代十八至十九世紀為其鼎盛時期，迄民國時期仍見續燒不輟。

石灣地處多丘陵之區，雖不利耕作，然柴薪充足，且臨河網，利於陶器燒造與運輸。此等自然條件促成窰業之興盛，其器除供應國內各地，並遠銷東南亞、歐洲及北美。陶工取自東莞的高塑性灰陶土，摻以本地石灣粗砂為胎料，燒成後或素胎不施釉，呈現石灣陶常見之灰赭胎色與厚重胎質，或施以厚釉，釉質乳濁而富流動感，釉色斑駁多變，如本器所示。

傳世石灣陶以清代中晚期作品為多，早清乃至明代之作已屬罕覯。本器造形尤為少見，有別於常見仿鈞器式，如水仙盆，足見石灣窰於造形之多樣與創新。此器構思新穎，以束帶卷軸為器形，一卷上角貼飾仿書卷籤條，匠心獨運。器面多層疊加施釉，藍白釉多，石墨釉少，且分佈均勻，故釉色斑駁而富於變化。明代石灣窰仿鈞水仙盆可參北京故宮博物院藏兩例，載於《鈞瓷雅集：故宮博物院珍藏及出土鈞瓷瓷器薈萃》，故宮博物院，北京，2013年，圖版124及125。

本器曾展於香港藝術館《石灣陶藝》專題展，此展覽在石灣陶相關研究中屢被提及。