A very rare imperial Junyao lavender-purple glazed dish, Ming dynasty, Hongwu - Yongle period | 明洪武至永樂　官鈞玫瑰紫釉盤

Collection of the Poon family.

Acquired from the above between the 1960s and early 1970s, and thence in the family collection. 

The present dish is a very rare example of an imperial early Ming dynasty Jun ware, with only a handful of comparable pieces known today. Most surviving examples are preserved in the collections of the Palace Museums in Beijing and Taipei and in the British Museum in London.

These dishes were traditionally attributed to Jingdezhen and thought to have been produced there in imitation of classic Jun wares, with examples of this type variously attributed to the Hongwu, Yongle, Xuande and Chenghua periods. In 2004, excavations at the Juntai kiln site in Henan uncovered bowls and dishes with purple glazes, a discovery considered highly significant in demonstrating that Juntai did in fact produce vessels of this type; see Li Baoping, ‘Numbered Jun Wares: Controversies and New Kiln Site Discoveries’, Transactions of the Oriental Ceramic Society, vol. 71, 2006-2007, pp. 65-77, where the author proposes Juntai as a possible origin for related examples in museum collections. On the basis of this new evidence, a related dish from the Eumorfopoulos Collection in the British Museum (acc. no. 1936,1012.88) has been reassigned from Jingdezhen to the Juntai kiln, and it is considered more likely that, instead of the Chenghua period, it dates to the early 15th century, and was made not at Jingdezhen but at Juntai in Henan province. Regardless of its precise origin, the present dish stands out for its remarkable glaze colour and refined potting, which closely link it to the group of Jun flower vessels and distinguish it from ordinary Jun wares, attesting to its imperial quality and rarity.

Comparable examples are few. Two dishes are preserved in the Beijing Palace Museum: one (15.5 cm) from the Qing court collection and attributed to the Xuande period, acc. no. gu-145216, the other (18.8 cm) attributed to the Ming dynasty, acc. no. gu-145217, respectively illustrated in Selection of Jun Ware. The Palace Museum's Collection and Archaeological Excavation, Beijing, 2013, nos 118 and 119. The Taipei Palace Museum also holds a small number of Jun purple‑glazed bowls and plates, two dishes of which are attributed to the Ming dynasty, acc. nos zhongci-4764 (16.5 cm) and zhongci-4769 (12.3 cm). The British Museum holds two further examples: one (17.5 cm) from the George Eumorfopoulos Collection, acc. no. 1936,1012.88, formerly regarded as a Jingdezhen imitation of the Chenghua period, but now reattributed to the Juntai kilns of the early 15th century, as discussed above; and another from the Sir Percival David Collection, attributed to the Hongwu period (16 cm), acc. no. PDF.74.

Examples in private collections are even rarer. A dish (17 cm) attributed to the Yongle-Xuande period, from a Guangdong family collection and retained since the late 19th century, was sold at Christie’s New York, 19th March 2009, lot 556, later dealt through Eskenazi and entered the Ten Views of Lingbi Rock Retreat Collection, before being resold in Beijing in 2019. Another example (15.7 cm), formerly in the Manno Art Museum, was sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 28th October 2002, lot 523, attributed to the Ming dynasty, late 14th to early 15th century. Lastly, a further dish (16 cm) from the Leshantang Collection, attributed to the Xuande period, was included in the exhibition The Exquisite Chinese Artifacts: Collection of Ching Wan Society, Museum of History, Taipei, 1995, cat. no. 94.

The Poon family collection is widely admired and particularly well known for its Jun wares, while the family has also assembled important holdings of Chinese paintings, calligraphy and other works of art. A number of important Jun pieces now in private hands can be traced back to this distinguished collection.

來源

潘氏家族收藏

1960年代至1970年代初購自上述來源，此後經家族遞藏

本盤口沿微撇，弧壁，下接圈足，足底削修平整，胎質堅實厚重。通體施玫瑰紫釉，釉色濃麗幽潤，口沿釉層垂流漸薄，呈醬黃色。造型端莊樸雅，風格嫻雅典麗，實為明初官鈞之瑰寶。

此類明初官鈞盤之斷代細分，歷有歧見，或歸洪武、永樂、宣德及成化諸朝，亦有景德鎮仿鈞之見。直至2004年，河南禹州鈞台窰址出土紫釉盌盤，始提供關鍵新證，證實鈞台窰確曾燒造同類器物，詳閱李寶平，〈Numbered Jun Wares: Controversies and New Kiln Site Discoveries〉，《東方陶瓷學會彙刊》，卷71，2006-2007年，頁65-77。文中作者據此認為現今博物館所藏相關盌盤例，或出自鈞台窰，並指出此類盌盤與官鈞花器之釉色頗為接近，明顯有別於一般鈞瓷。承此新證，大英博物館亦據以修訂所藏一例，為尤莫夫普洛斯舊藏，館藏編號：1936,1012.88，由明成化景德鎮仿鈞瓷，改定為明代十五世紀初鈞台窰器。

傳世官鈞器多為花器形制，盤例殊少，可資比勘者寥寥。現存官鈞盤例，惟見於北京故宮博物院、台北故宮博物院、大英博物館，及少數私人收藏例。北京故宮博物院僅見兩例，其一為清宮舊藏，定為宣德朝，盤徑15.5公分，館藏編號：故145216，另一斷為明代，盤徑18.8公分，館藏編號：故145217，分別收錄於《鈞窰雅集：故宮博物院珍藏及出土鈞窰瓷器薈萃》，北京，2013年，編號118及119。台北故宮博物院亦藏數許例，其中兩盤均歸於明代，館藏編號：中瓷4764及4769，徑各16.5及12.3公分。大英博物館藏兩例，一為前述尤莫夫普洛斯舊藏例，盤徑17.5公分，館藏編號：1936,1012.88，另一例為大維德爵士舊藏，定為洪武時期，盤徑16公分，館藏編號：PDF.74。

私人收藏例尤為罕見。一例盤徑17公分，定為永樂至宣德時期，原廣東家族舊藏，自十九世紀末承傳，釋於紐約佳士得2009年3月19日，編號556，後由埃斯卡納齊經手售予北美十面靈璧山居收藏，2019年再於北京釋出。日本大阪萬野美術館亦藏一例，盤徑15.7公分，後售於香港佳士得2002年10月28日，編號523，斷為明代十四至十五世紀。最後一例，為樂山堂收藏，盤徑16公分，定為宣德朝，曾展於《中華文物集粹：清翫雅集收藏展》，歷史博物館，台北，1995年，編號94。

潘氏家族所藏鈞窰器素負盛名，今多件重要私人珍藏之鈞器皆可溯源於其舊藏。