Lot description
清乾隆 粉青釉「五蝠捧壽」紋折沿洗 PROVENANCE 1. A Japanese private collection 2. Yamanaka Co. Ltd., by repute 3. Sotheby's Hong Kong, 8 October 2010, lot 2637 The basin has deep rounded sides rising from a slightly concave base to a wide flaring rim, carved and slip-decorated to the interior with a shou medallion encircled by five bats, the rim with four large ruyi and carp strapwork panels. The exterior is decorated with jagged rocks emerging from tumultuous foaming waves. It is covered overall in a soft bluish-green glaze thinning to white on the raised areas. The base is inscribed in underglaze blue with a six-character seal mark. While decorative elements are prevalent on smaller celadon-glazed dishes, the basin is unique for its massive proportions and form. A much smaller and shallower celadon-glazed basin, with a narrower keyfret-decorated rim and carved with the Eight Trigrams around a yinyang medallion, also with a Qianlong reign mark and of the period, was sold in Sotheby's Hong Kong, 17 November 1975, lot 152. The form of this basin is reminiscent of early Ming blue and white basins of slightly smaller proportions which were reproduced during the Qianlong reign. Although the blue and white versions were potted with a deeper well, the present piece shares the slightly curved sides and severe everted rim of the Ming version. For a Yongle prototype, see one from the National Palace Museum in Taipei, illustrated in Pleasingly Pure and Lustrous, Porcelains from the Yongle Reign (1403-1424) of the Ming Dynasty, Taipei, 2017, p.128. This basin comprises an eclectic set of auspicious motifs, like the combination of the shou character, bats and ruyi represents the wish for blessings, longevity and the fulfilment of all wishes, while the double carp motifs around the rim symbolise the wish for connubial bliss, fecundity and an abundance of good luck. 款識：「大清乾隆年製」 來源 1. 日本私人收藏 2. 傳山中商會收藏 3. 香港蘇富比，2010年10月8日，編號2637 洗折沿，弧腹下斂，大平底，淺圈足。通體滿施粉青釉，洗心圈內模印壽字紋，環飾五隻蝙蝠，寓意「五蝠捧壽」。折沿上飾四組鯉魚靈芝花卉紋，鯉魚躍動其身，口銜靈芝花，生動細致。雙魚圖案於乾隆時期普具吉祥寓意，與盤心喜慶主題互相呼應。盤外壁飾一周海水山石紋，波濤海浪，層次宛然，蒼雅之氣躍然眼前。底以青花書「大清乾隆年製」六字三行篆書款。 整體圖案佈局整齊，印花手法精湛細緻，細節處刻畫惟妙惟肖，極具立體感，紋飾清晰程度彷彿織繡一般，再搭配華美淡雅的粉青釉，超凡脫俗，驚豔華貴。全器釉色淡雅脫俗，圖案繁縟卻刻劃工整，具有典型乾隆朝紋飾特徵，應為當時宮廷祝賀壽誕之用品。 乾隆慕古，以古為師，陶古鑄今，集古今之大成。此類折沿洗以明代仿伊斯蘭銅器而製成的青花器，加以創新而成，演變出腹較淺、折沿較寬的折沿洗。原形參考可見於國立故宮博物院藏明永樂青花波濤花卉紋折沿洗，展覽及著錄於《適於心：明代永樂皇帝的瓷器》，台北，2017年，頁128。 粉青釉是清代青色釉瓷的一種，其色調勻淨明潔，釉面細膩光潤，為雍乾兩朝經典品種之一。清代青釉器的燒造肇始於康熙，極盛於雍乾，根據釉色深淺不同可分為豆青、冬青、粉青三個品種，豆青色最重，冬青次之，粉青最淺，三個品種中以粉青品級最高。粉青釉以光素器為多，印花、刻花少見，且多為盤、洗等小件器，大盤器形極為罕見。
