MAGNIFIQUE ET TRÈS RARE GRAND VASE BALUSTRE EN PORCELAINE DE LA FAMILLE ROSE

Marque à six caractères en cachet en rouge de cuivre et époque Qianlong (1736-1795)

Footnotes

PROPERTY FROM A LONDON ESTATE
倫敦私人遺產

清乾隆 粉彩雲紋「蒼龍教子」雙螭耳瓶 礬紅「大清乾隆年製」篆書款

Provenance:
Collection of William Dederich (1872-1926), Kingswood House, Dulwich, London.
Thence by direct descent in the family.

來源
William Dederich（1872-1926）珍藏，Kingswood House，達利奇，倫敦
後經家族流傳至今

This impressive vase is a masterpiece made in the imperial kilns at Jingdezhen in Jiangxi province under the Qianlong emperor. It is a successful combination of colour and composition, and must have been a challenging project for the skilled artists in the Jingdezhen workshops who designed and painted the design. The striking combination of rose pink-enamel and iron-red in the decoration of this vase is very rare and only one other companion piece to this vase is known. On a vase of identical form, size and design, also inscribed with a Qianlong iron-red six-character seal mark, the iron-red and pink dragons are arranged the opposite way, the designs on both vases perfectly mirroring each other. The present vase is therefore the pair to the vase sold in Bonhams Hong Kong, 28 November 2011, lot 457 (Fig. 1).

Both vases are decorated with a continuous design of two striding dragons of different size and colour. By the Qianlong period, the painters in the Jingdezhen workshops were highly accomplished in rendering superb five-clawed dragons. The larger dragon above with a powerful body and head subtly painted in different washes of iron red accentuated with stippled details and fine lines. His eyes, fangs and claws are picked out in white enamel and his mane in a vivid green enamel, contrasting with his vibrant-coloured body. The use of deep iron-red for the large dragon adds boldness and power to the design when comparing it to the soft pink enamel employed for the smaller, more diminutive dragon that faces him striding below. His body is depicted in delicate shades of rose-pink accentuated with a puce-coloured spine. As on the larger dragon, his eyes, eyebrows, fangs and claws are highlighted in white enamel. Their colourful bodies contrast sharply against the white body of the vase scattered with delicate wisps of swirling multi-coloured clouds.

In the decorative repertoire of art, depictions of a larger powerful dragon accompanied by a smaller, more sinuous dragon, usually facing each other, convey the message of 'the old dragon teaching his son' canglong jiaozi recorded in the Sanzi jing [Three Character Classics] attributed to Wang Yinglin (1223-1296), a traditional text for teaching children Confucian doctrines of importance on education, filial piety, proper family relations and correct moral behaviour. We can assume that the two dragons on this vase allude to the theme of succession of imperial power and handing down knowledge from father to son, most likely alluding to the figures of Qianlong and his son, Prince Yongyan, the future Jiaqing Emperor. The distinctively different treatment and positioning of the two dragons on this vase underline their hierarchical relationship, with the larger iron-red dragon representing authority and the smaller, pink-enamelled dragon demonstrating respectful submission.

As mentioned above, this magnificent vase is the pair to a vase sold in Bonhams Hong Kong, 28 November 2011, lot 457. The size of these two vases and the subject are both rare and very few porcelain vases made during the Qianlong reign match these two. On a visit to the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, in 1990, the owner of the present lot saw another vase displayed in the galleries and noted the similarities. In fact, she saw a famille rose vase of the same size, shape and colour scheme but decorated with one hundred boys at play around the body (Henry L.Florence Bequest, accession no. C.1196-1917) (Fig. 2). A slightly larger famille rose vase also decorated with two large dragons around the body, from the Buchanan-Jardine Collection, was included in the 1935 London Chinese art exhibition and published in Catalogue of the International Exhibition of Chinese Art, London, 1935-36, cat.no. 2178 and p. 186. The same subject appears on a slightly slightly smaller tianqiuping vase on a turquoise ground, sold in Sotheby's Hong Kong, 3 April 2019, lot 3614.

This magnificent vase was acquired by William Dederich (1872-1926), an English businessman and patron of explorations. Dederich made his fortune in the 1890s in the railway industry in Britain supplying equipment for railways and trains. He was a part financier of the famed Sir Ernest Shackleton's 1914 Antarctic expedition. Dederich was also interested in Asia and was the benefactor of Dr William Montgomery McGovern's voyage to Tibet in 1923. McGovern was a lecturer in Japanese at the School of Oriental Studies (SOS), now SOAS, London, from 1919. By family tradition the vase was already in the collection of William Dederich when he lived in 'The Big House', Kingswood in Dulwich, London. Dederich had acquired Kingswood in 1912 from John Lawston Johnson, the inventor of Bovril.

本拍品為乾隆時期景德鎮御窰傑出之作。其造型與色彩的完美融合，展現了景德鎮御窰廠爐火純青的製瓷技藝。本品紋飾中粉紅琺琅與鐵紅的驚人組合非常罕見，目前已知與之配套的作品僅有一件。該件尺寸、造型、紋飾、款識皆與本拍品相同，同爲乾隆礬紅六字篆款，但二龍位置相反，與本拍品爲鏡像圖案，可知與本拍品原爲一對，於香港邦瀚斯2011年11月28日售出，編號457。

兩件大瓶腹部繪有顔色各異大小兩龍的連續圖案。至乾隆一朝，景德鎮御窰畫師在描繪五爪龍紋方面已有很高的造詣。本拍品紋飾中，蒼龍身體和頭部以不同深淺鐵紅呈現，細節描繪更是精緻入微。蒼龍的雙目、獠牙及五爪以白色琺琅繪製，鬃毛則以鮮明的綠色琺琅描繪，與其色彩鮮明的身體形成強烈對比。蒼龍使用了深鐵紅色，與幼龍使用的柔和粉紅色琺琅相比，更顯大膽和力量。幼龍的身體以細膩的玫瑰粉色為底色，脊椎則以紫褐色加以強調。與較大的蒼龍一樣，它的雙目、眉毛、獠牙和爪子也都以白色琺琅描繪。兩條龍五彩斑斕的身軀與雲彩繚繞的白色瓶身形成鮮明的對比。

王應麟（1223-1296）所撰《三字經》中記載了 「蒼龍教子 」的典故，由此我們可以推測，大小兩龍寓意皇權繼承，很可能是暗指乾隆帝與皇十五子永琰，即後來的嘉慶帝。紋飾的處理方式及位置的不同，突出了它們之間的等級關係：較大的鐵紅色蒼龍代表權威，而較小的粉紅琺琅幼龍則表示恭敬與順從。

如上所述，這件珍罕的重要御製彩瓷與香港邦瀚斯2011 年 11 月 28 日所售拍品編號 457為一對。這兩件大瓶在尺寸和主題上都極爲罕見，極少乾隆朝製的瓷瓶能與之媲美。1990年，本拍品現藏家在參觀倫敦維多利亞與亞伯特博物館時，看到展廳中陳列的另一件瓷瓶與其相似。實際上，她看到的是另一件具有相同尺寸、造型和色彩的粉彩大瓶，但紋飾為百子圖（Henry L. Florence 遺贈，藏品編號 C.1196-1917）。Buchanan-Jardine珍藏有一件較大的粉彩瓶，也飾有兩條龍，曾於1935年倫敦舉辦的中國藝術國際展覽展出，並出版於《Catalogue of the International Exhibition of Chinese Art》，倫敦，1935至1936年，編號2178，頁186。參考一件相同題材、尺寸略小的松石綠地天球瓶，於香港蘇富比2019年4月3日售出，編號3614。

這件珍品最初由英國商人及探險贊助人William Dederich（1872-1926 年）入藏。Dederich 於1890 英國鐵路工業化過程中，為鐵路和火車提供設備，積累了相當的財富。他曾是英國探險家沙克爾頓爵士（Sir Ernest Shackleton）南極探險的贊助人。此外，Dederich 對亞洲也抱有濃厚的興趣，曾贊助威廉·蒙哥馬利·麥戈文（William Montgomery McGovern）博士 1923 年的西藏考察。 自1919年起，麥戈文在東方研究學院（SOS），即現今的倫敦大學亞非學院（SOAS）擔任日語講師。
根據家族傳統，William Dederich 住在倫敦達利奇的 Kingswood 大宅時已經入藏此瓶。Dederich 於 1912 年從保衛爾（Bovril）的發明者約翰・羅森・強斯頓（John Lawson Johnston）手中購得該宅邸。