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明洪武 釉裡紅纏枝花卉紋玉壺春瓶 PROVENANCE An important Hong Kong private collection The vase is of elegant classic pear shape supported on a short foot rising to a generous rounded body surmounted by a waisted neck flaring at the mouth. The whole vase is painted in copper red with a broad band of undulating stems of peony bearing four large blooms alternatively depicted in profile and full-faced. The flowers are crowned by characteristically large and pointed foliage. The floral pattern is painted between upright lappets at the base and a collar of trefoil pendants dangling from a band of lingzhi scrolls, all beneath a band of cloud scrolls, a keyfret border, and upright plantain leaves at the neck. The inner mouthrim is also painted with classic scroll. Freely painted with a rhythmic peony scroll and bands of stylised motifs, the present piece is a rare and excellent example of 14th century red-decorated porcelain. Copper as a colouring agent is particularly unstable in the firing process, thus it carries a high possibility of becoming runny and leaving indistinct outlines or resulting in weak shades of red and pale grey tones. The strong copper tones and clearly-pencilled designs of this vase sets it apart as a highly successful and skilfully manufactured piece. A closely related example from the Qing court collection in the Palace Museum, Beijing, is published in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Blue and White Porcelain with Underglaze Red (III), Shanghai, 2000, pl. 197; and another in the Tokyo National Museum is illustrated in Oriental Ceramics. The World's Great Collections, vol. 1, Tokyo, 1982, pl. 112. Another similar example could be found in Christie's Hong Kong, 30 May 2006, Lot 1248. 來源 香港重要私人收藏 本品撇口，束頸，垂腹，圈足。以釉里紅為飾，紋樣滿佈，分層而飾，繁而不亂。瓶身以七層紋樣描繪，頸部繪蕉葉紋、勾雲紋和倒垂如意紋、腹部繪纏枝牡丹紋、仰蓮紋及卷草紋。於腹部綻開的牡丹花各面皆形態不同，工匠筆法灑脫，酣暢有力，勾勒出花葉的翻捲、偃仰起伏之態，動中有靜宛若在微風中搖曳，枝蔓的運筆尤顯婉轉自若。 洪武釉裡紅瓷器是最成功的階段，也是極盛時期，受朝廷的高度重視，蓋因明代定鼎天下之初，太祖以古制及唐、宋制度為參考，遵循五德始終之思想，尊火德，尚赤。《明史•卷六十七•輿服三》載「洪武……三年，禮部言歷代異尚……今國家承元之後，取法週、漢、唐、宋服色，所尚於赤為宜，從之。」這不僅標誌紅色於明代為至高無上的顏色，更代表著從禮制方面，皇家對朱紅顏色的專有權，崇尚火德，尊紅色催生了釉裡紅的大量燒造，但高溫釉下銅紅，極難燒成，成品率低，因此其生產製造在中國的陶瓷手工業歷史中曾數度中止。正是為此，傳世的釉裡紅瓷器益顯珍貴。 玉壺春發展至明代，已徹底成為觀賞之瓶花器。造型而言，拍品玉壺春較之元代玉壺春瓶的挺拔秀美，其頸部增粗，腹脛更為豐滿圓碩，顯得雄渾穩重，入明以後成為御瓷之典雅器形。元代玉壺春瓶的造型較為秀麗輕巧，而永樂的瓶頸較短，重心較低，外觀較為凝重，而這支洪武瓷瓶正介於兩者之間。同類作品可參閱《故宮博物院藏文物珍品全集青花釉里紅（上）》，香港，2000年，212頁，圖版197號；另見《上海博物館藏品研究大係明代官窯瓷器》，陸明華著，上海人民出版社，頁7，圖1-1；市場例子可參考香港佳士得，2006年5月30日，編號1248，該明洪武釉里紅纏枝牡丹紋玉壺春瓶，與本品尺寸相似，紋飾相近，可資比較。