拍賣筆記 vol.265 覺是軒：唐三彩鷹首壺 - Priestley & Ferraro, A Very Rare Sancai Eagle-Head Ewer, Tang Dynasty

在如此稀罕度與 provenance 完整的前提下，本件最終以 £23,040（含佣） 釋出，屬明顯低估。與近年國際拍場中鳳首／鷹首類三彩壺的行情相比，本件尺寸優雅、造型準確、釉色清亮，且具 Mary & Cheney Cowles 出處與展覽著錄，實屬同類中罕見的“學術級”作品。對研究唐代三彩與絲路金屬器形轉化者而言，本件堪稱不可多得的參考標本；對收藏者而言，此成交價可謂遠低於其學術層級所應有的市場位置，未來應是遠超數百萬的品種。

Given the rarity of this type and the completeness of its provenance, the final price of £23,040 (including premium) is conspicuously low. When compared with recent international auction results for sancai phoenix- or eagle-head ewers, the present example—distinguished by its refined proportions, accurate rendering of the form, and luminous glaze—stands out as an unusually fine “scholarly” specimen, further strengthened by its Mary and Cheney Cowles provenance and exhibition history.

For scholars working on Tang sancai and the transmission of Sasanian metalwork forms into the Chinese ceramic tradition, this ewer represents an invaluable point of reference. For collectors, the outcome of this sale appears substantially below the market position that such an academically significant piece would typically command.

唐 三彩鷹首壺

來源：

倫敦古董商Berwald Oriental Art

Mary與Cheney Cowles伉儷，西雅圖，獲得於2005年

Zetterquist Galleries，紐約，2023年1月18日

展覽著錄：

Zetterquist Galleries，《The Mary and Cheney Cowles Collection of Chinese Ceramics》，紐約，2023年，編號7

本件唐代三彩鷹首壺，器形端雅，燒造精緻，屬此一傳統中極罕見且學術價值極高的範例。鷹首（或稱鳳首）壺原型源自薩珊金銀器，經由北周至初唐的文化交流而被轉化為中國化的陶瓷語彙，其形制通常與皇室、上層貴族相關。傳世與出土數量極少，精品尤為罕見。

本器腹部微鼓，頸部修長並分段束飾，以鷹首作流，喙尖下彎，形象準確，對應唐代工匠對西來器形的審美再創造。器表以琥珀、綠與米白三彩斑斕施釉，釉區止於下腹不規則線處，下部露胎呈黃色泥質，具典型盛唐三彩器之風格特徵。整體比例纖美，成型技術顯見高度熟練。

本件的斷代亦經牛津熱釋光檢測（編號C104z46，2004年11月22日），結果與唐代製作相符，增添其科學與學術可信度。

罕見性與學術重要性

鷹首／鳳首壺在唐三彩器中屬極稀有的亞型，其源流可追溯至薩珊銀壺，實物例證包括北周天和四年（569年）固原李賢墓出土的薩珊鎏金銀壺（今固原博物館藏）。唐代陶工在消化此類金屬器形後發展出獨具視覺語彙的三彩版本，意味著早期絲路審美在中國陶瓷史上一次具有深遠意義的融合。

真正可資比較的例子極少：

• 1965、1981年洛陽出土兩件唐三彩鷹首壺（《洛陽出土文物集粹》，1990）

• 東京國立博物館鳳首例（TG-2172）

• 大都會博物館（1997.1.2）

此型器在學術體系中的位置，已被文獻與考古充分確認。然而市場上可流通者極為少見，因此每件皆具標本性意義。

LOT 132

A VERY RARE SANCAI EAGLE-HEAD EWER

Tang Dynasty

PRIESTLEY & FERRARO: THREE DECADES IN CHINESE ART (1994-2025)

6 November 2025, 11:00 GMT

London, New Bond Street

Sold for £23,040 inc. premium

Tang Dynasty

Provenance:

Berwald Oriental Art, London

Mary and Cheney Cowles, Seattle, acquired in 2005

Zetterquist Galleries, New York, 18 January 2023

Published, Illustrated and Exhibited:

Zetterquist Galleries, The Mary and Cheney Cowles Collection of Chinese Ceramics, New York, 2023, no.7.

The result of Oxford Authentication Ltd. thermoluminescence test no.C104z46, dated 22 November 2004, is consistent with the dating of this lot.

本拍品經牛津熱釋光檢測，編號C104z46（2004年11月22日），結果與其斷代相符

The present ewer is exceptional for its elegant proportions and superb potting. Eagle-head or phoenix-head ewers find their origin in the gold and silver ewers of the Sasanian Empire, which Tang craftsmen adapted and incorporated into the evolving tradition of Chinese ceramic art. For a discussion of the development of the eagle-head ewer and a possible prototype, a Sasanian gilt silver ewer excavated from the tomb of Li Xian, dated to the fourth year of the Tianhe era of the Northern Zhou dynasty (569) in Guyuan 固原, in the collection of the Guyuan Museum, see Zhang Dongfang, Yuren wadang yanjiu (羽人瓦當研究), Beijing, 2018, pp.204–208.

See two related sancai eagle-head ewers, Tang dynasty, unearthed in Luoyang in 1965 and 1981 respectively, illustrated in Ancient Treasures of Luoyang (洛陽出土文物集粹), Beijing, 1990, pls.91-92. See also a related sancai phoenix-head ewer, Tang dynasty, in the Tokyo National Museum, (acc.no.TG-2172); and another in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (acc.no.1997.1.2).

A related sancai 'phoenix' ewer, Tang dynasty, was sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 31 May 2017, lot 3110. Compare also with a related sancai 'phoenix' ewer, Tang dynasty, which was sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 30 November 2021, lot 311. See also a related sancai 'phoenix-head' ewer, but embellished with applied decoration, Tang dynasty, which was sold at Sotheby's London, 13 May 2015, lot 104.