A very rare yellow-ground and iron-red decorated 'Luoshu' brush handle, Mark and period of Wanli | 明萬曆　黃地紅彩洛書圖斗筆管　 《大明萬曆年製》

An English private collection, circa 2000.

Christie's London, 13th May 2016, lot 614.

The Wanli Emperor ruled during an era that nurtured eminent literati figures, including Dong Qichang and Chen Jiru, when scholarly culture and the arts of painting and calligraphy were highly prized at court and among the educated elite. During his reign, the imperial kilns at Jingdezhen produced a wide variety of porcelains, notably objects for the scholar’s desk, such as brush handles, rests, stands, trays and boxes.

According to the Jiangxi sheng dazhi (Great Gazetteer of Jiangxi Province), juan 7, "Taoshu" (Treatise on Ceramics), such Luoshu (Luo Book) brush handles are recorded as having been made on at least two occasions, in the 11th and 17th years of the Wanli reign, corresponding to 1583 and 1589. This type is further noted in the Qing ceramic treatise Tao Shuo, where porcelain brush tubes bearing the Hetu (River Diagram) and Luo Book design are discussed in relation to traditional scholarly ideals of the brush.

Surviving brush handles of this type from the period are rare, most commonly painted with dragons, rarely with floral designs, and even more rarely with this Luo Book motif. The Luoshu motif, often paired with the related Hetu diagram, was regarded as a potent emblem of cosmic order and benevolent governance. In traditional accounts, the Luo Book is a mystical diagram revealed on the back of a divine tortoise rising from the Luo River, while the River Diagram appears on a dragon horse emerging from the Yellow River; together they came to be seen as auspicious portents of a prosperous and well-ordered age. On Wanli imperial porcelain, the depiction of the Luoshu thus affirms the emperor’s authority as sanctioned by the heavenly mandate.

Among the small group of surviving examples, most are recorded in either blue and white or wucai palettes, while pieces in this striking combination of yellow and iron-red enamels are exceptionally rare. This vivid pairing, a highly emblematic colour scheme of wares made for his grandfather, the Jiajing Emperor, required an exacting and costly process involving three separate firings: one for the porcelain body under a clear glaze, one for the yellow enamel, and a final firing for the iron-red decoration. The red enamel, applied around the reserved motifs, was particularly difficult to control and often resulted in a high rate of failure during production. The manufacture of such wares remained exclusively under the supervision of the imperial kilns at Jingdezhen, beyond the technical reach of, and indeed prohibited to, the private kilns, making this brush handle an exceptional survival.

Only two related brush handles with this subject appear to be recorded, but in the blue-and-white palette, in the collection of the Taipei Palace Museum, acc. nos guci-13574 and 13569; both are unmarked, and each is painted on one side with the Hetu and on the other with the Luoshu.

For related ‘dragon’ brush handles, see a marked wucai example in the Taipei Palace Museum, published in Ye Peilan, Beauty of Ceramics, vol. 7: Gems of the Wucai Porcelain, Taipei, 1996, pl. 121. Two unmarked blue-and-white examples in the Shanghai Museum: one with dragons reserved in cusped quatrefoil cartouches, the other with dragons and a diaper ground, both are illustrated in Lu Minghua, Mingdai guanyao ciqi [Ming Imperial Porcelain], Shanghai, 2007, pls 1-87 and 1-88. A marked blue-and-white example from the Sir Percival David Collection in the British Museum, London, acc. no. PDF.627. Lastly, an unmarked wucai ‘dragons above waves’ brush handle, formerly in the collections of Carl Kempe, Eskenazi, and Meiyintang, later entered an important collection and was recently sold in these rooms, 21st November 2025, lot 807. 

For related ‘floral’ examples, see two unmarked brush handles in the Taipei Palace Museum, acc. nos guci-13564 and 13565.

來源

英國私人收藏，約2000年

倫敦佳士得2016年5月13日，編號614

萬曆帝在位之時，文人風氣鼎盛，董其昌、陳繼儒等名士皆以書畫稱著，宮廷與士林並尚文藝之雅。是時景德鎮御窰場奉旨燒造瓷器，品類繁富，除供御用陳設與日用之器，文房器具尤為繁伙，筆管、筆架、筆托、筆格、筆盒皆列其中。

此筆管挺直而長，通體寬厚，便於手執書寫。上端微侈，筆斗處尤為寬碩，以納筆毫於內。其形上狹下闊，如小斗之狀，又名「斗筆」，適於書寫大字、斗方。頂部飾如意對雲紋與細花，管身繪纏枝靈芝花卉紋及卍字錦紋各一層，下端管身兩側各繪一玄龜出洛之圖。上端橫書青花年款。傳統筆管多為漆竹所製，萬曆官窰尤盛瓷筆，設色瑰麗，質感亦較漆竹為華。

據《江西省大志．陶書》載，萬曆十一年（1583年）及十七年（1589年）皆奉旨燒造筆管，式樣繁多，或青花，或五彩，紋飾有穿花龍、海水雲龍、升降龍、花卉靈芝，亦見河圖、洛書之制。《陶說》亦有河圖洛書筆管之記載。

《易經．繫辭上》載：「河出圖，洛出書，聖人則之。」相傳太昊伏羲時，有龍馬自黃河躍出，背負河圖，伏羲據以推演陰陽變化，遂畫八卦，以明天地之理與萬物之序。又傳大禹治水時，神龜自洛水浮現，龜背載洛書，禹因得其數，以成洪範九疇。後世遂合稱河圖洛書，視為天人合一、王者受命之徵，太平盛世之祥瑞符應。萬曆朝御瓷施繪此類圖樣，寓意皇權承天而治、德被四方，並兆示治世升平、文運昌隆之瑞意。

雖當時燒造之例不乏其數，然流傳至今者寥寥，或帶橫款如本品，或無款識，以今所見多飾龍紋，間見花卉紋，河圖、洛書為飾者尤為罕見。惟尚見兩支同題材青花筆管，皆無款，管身一側繪龍馬負河圖，另一側繪玄龜負洛書，現藏於台北故宮博物院，館藏編號：故瓷13574及13569。

龍紋相關例，可參考台北故宮博物院所藏五彩雲龍紋筆管，帶款，圖載於葉佩蘭，《五彩名瓷》，台北，1996年，圖版121。上海博物館藏兩支青花龍紋筆管，均無款：一為纏枝花卉開光龍紋，另一為錦地穿花龍紋，圖載於陸明華，《明代官窰瓷器》，上海，2007年，圖版1-87及1-88。倫敦大英博物館亦藏一青花纏枝花卉開光龍紋筆管，帶款，為大維德爵士舊藏，館藏編號：PDF.627。另見一私人收藏例，為五彩海水龍紋筆管，無款，經卡爾肯普博士、埃斯卡納齊、玫茵堂、及一重要私人收藏遞藏，近售於香港蘇富比2025年11月21日，編號807。花卉紋相關例，亦可參考台北故宮博物院藏兩例，無款，館藏編號：故瓷13564及13565。

上述諸例足證萬曆御窰文房器風格之多樣，而就目前所見傳世同類器言，多為青花或五彩兩式，黃地紅彩者尤為罕有。「黃上紅」為嘉靖御瓷之典型配色，寓「皇上鴻福」，其釉彩套疊工藝繁複，窰燒三次方能成器。先高溫燒瓷胎，再施黃釉復入窰焙燒，繼以礬紅彩塗飾紋樣之外地，末以低溫烘燒成器。稍有不慎，前功盡廢，成品率極低。黃釉為皇家專用，《大明會典》明定民間禁用，其生產由御窰器廠嚴格把控，為民窰所不能及，故存世者彌足珍貴。