拍賣筆記 vol.292 蘇富比香港：952.5港元成交，明嘉靖青花雲龍供壽紋蓋罐一對，岡田美術館 - A Okada Pair Of Massive Blue And White 'Dragon' Jars And Covers, Marks and period of Jiajing, Sold for 9.525m HKD

嘉靖朝青花巨罐向來稀見，完整保存蓋者更屬鳳毛麟角，而「成對且巨制（逾 65 公分）」的例子在公私館藏中皆未見確證紀錄。本次岡田美術館舊藏一對青花雲龍供壽紋蓋罐釋出，無論體量、工藝密度、畫面氣勢，皆已屬嘉靖御窰的高級別。

從歷史市場觀察，單件大型嘉靖龍罐（55–60 公分級，附蓋或殘蓋）過往拍賣紀錄多集中於 300–800 萬港元 區間；較具美術館級來源者可突破 1,000 萬港元。例如：

• 思學齋舊藏例，香港蘇富比 2006 年（Lot 919），單件成交約 HKD 5–6 百萬；

• 鮑氏東方藝術館（Baur）、舊金山亞洲博物館 所藏同類，皆為單件，且尺寸更小；

• 故宮、首都博物館的對應例亦屬單件，規模不及岡田之例。

由此可見，成對巨罐的市場稀缺度呈指數級提升，本次釋出無疑刷新同類作品在當代市場的基準。其價值不僅在於體量與工藝，更在於傳承清晰、出版完整、展覽紀錄完整，使其在嘉靖青花板塊中的地位遠超一般龍罐，堪稱「類型代表作」。

Large Jiajing blue-and-white dragon jars are rare in any form, and examples retaining their original covers are already exceptional. A matched pair of monumental scale—each over 65 cm high—remains virtually unrecorded in both public and private collections. The Okada Museum pair therefore occupies an extraordinary position within the corpus of Jiajing imperial porcelain.

Historical market data indicate that single large Jiajing dragon jars (55–60 cm, with or without cover) typically realise HKD 3–8 million, while examples with strong provenance or institutional pedigree may exceed HKD 10 million. Notable benchmarks include:

• The Sixuezhai jar sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong in 2006 (Lot 919), achieving around HKD 5–6 million for one jar;

• Comparable examples in the Baur Collection, the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, and Chinese institutional collections are all single jars of smaller scale.

Against this backdrop, the Okada pair represents a major escalation in rarity. A complete, monumental pair with documented laizhi (來源), publications and exhibition history effectively sets a new reference point for the category. Their importance lies not merely in their size and decoration, but in their status as type-defining works at the pinnacle of Jiajing imperial production.

明嘉靖

青花雲龍供壽紋蓋罐一對

《大明嘉靖年製》款

A pair of massive blue and white 'dragon' jars and covers, Marks and period of Jiajing

Premium Lot

Auction Closed

2o25 November 22, 06:38 PM HKT

Estimate

6,000,000 - 12,000,000 HKD

Lot Sold

9,525,000 HKD

來源

日本私人收藏

壺中居，東京

展覽

《開館5周年記念展―美のスターたち―光琳．若冲．北斎．汝窯など名品勢ぞろい》， 岡田美術館，箱根，2018-19年，展覽編號3及6（沒載圖）

出版

藤岡了一及長谷部楽爾，《世界陶磁全集》，卷14：明，東京，1976年，圖版212（其一）

小林忠編，《岡田美術館名品撰》，卷1，東京，2013年，編號29（其一）

一蓋由日本陶藝家川瀬竹志2003年重配。原蓋鈕重接，口沿可見四處小磕。一罐口沿有一處三角形磕碰及兩處淺磕經潤飾，連帶一條短沖。另一罐整體品相良好。見窰燒瑕疵，包括些許爆釉、窰粘及接胎痕。

此對罐不僅體量巨大，且以氣勢磅礴的五爪龍紋及的纏枝蓮花紋裝飾，堪稱嘉靖御窰瓷器工藝的巔峰之作。在長達四十六年的動盪統治中，世宗皇帝面臨北方入侵、政治紛亂及多次行刺威脅。在外患壓力下，皇帝選擇遠離紫禁城的紛擾，皈依道教，並開始追求長生不老的理想，此舉在無意間改變了中國藝術史的進程。為了裝飾北京的新皇家御苑及道觀，嘉靖朝廷訂製大量瓷器，甚至需要景德鎮鄰近的民窰協助燒造，由此催生了充滿創意的瓷器燒造熱潮，這一繁榮在此前的弘治及正德朝無法企及。

目前在公立或其他私人收藏中，尚未見記錄中有如此巨大且完整成對的蓋罐。完整保存蓋子的嘉靖罐本已屬罕見，尤其此類超大體量更是難得一見。可參考現存於全球重要收藏中的單件例子，如北京故宮博物院藏一件尺寸較小作例，54.2公分，錄於《故宮博物院藏文物珍品全集：青花釉裏紅（中）》，上海，2000年，圖版96；另一蓋罐，出土於北京市郊，現藏于北京首都博物館，載于《中國陶瓷全集》，卷12，上海，2000年，圖版163；第三例藏於舊金山亞洲藝術博物館，館藏編號B60P99+.a-.b，出版於René-Yvon Lefebvre d’Argencé，《Chinese Ceramics in the Avery Brundage Collection》，柏克萊，1967年，圖版LIV；日內瓦鮑氏東方藝術館藏一例，刊於John Ayers，《Chinese Ceramics in the Baur Collection》，日內瓦，1999年，卷1，圖版73；並參考《世界陶磁全集》，卷14，東京，1976年，圖版212；《明清の美術》，東京，1982年，圖版92。思學齋舊藏一例，2006年10月7日售於香港蘇富比，編號919。《出光美術館藏品圖錄：中國陶磁》，東京，1987年，圖版707；巴黎吉美美術館藏例，錄於《The World's Great Collections. Oriental Ceramics》，卷7，東京，1981年，彩圖版81。

Description

each robustly potted with an ovoid body and a short waisted neck, boldly painted in vibrant underglaze-blue with two fierce five-clawed dragons, their scaly bodies writhing amid ruyi-head scrolling clouds, separated by rockwork issuing lingzhi with main stem twisted into stylised shou characters, above crashing waves, all below a lotus scroll band at the shoulder, with an interlinked ruyi-head border at the foot, inscribed with a horizontal six-character reign mark below the mouth, the flattened domed cover similarly decorated with writhing dragons, rising to a large centralised pointed knop painted with a stylised lotus flower above upright lappets and a classic scroll band, Japanese wood boxes

overall h. 65.5 cm

Condition Report

One cover made by Japanese pottery artist Kawase Takeshi in 2003. The original cover’s finial reattached, the rim with four small flakes visible without removing the cloth. One jar’s mouth rim with a restored triangular chip, with associated short hairline, and two retouched small flakes. The other jar is in good overall condition. All with typical firing imperfections, including some burst glaze bubbles, kiln grits, and luting lines.  

Provenance

A Japanese private collection.

Kochukyo Co., Ltd, Tokyo.

Exhibited

5th Anniversary Exhibition. All-Stars of the Okada Collection: Masterworks of Korin, Jakuchu, Hokusai and the Ru Ware Kilns, Okada Museum of Art, Hakone, 2018-19, exh. nos 3 and 6 (unillustrated).

Literature

Ryoichi Fujioka and Gakuji Hasebe, Ceramic Art of the World, vol. 14: Ming dynasty, Tokyo, 1976, pl. 212 (one of the pair).

Kobayashi Tadashi, ed., Masterpieces of the Okada Museum of Art, vol. 1, Tokyo, 2013, no. 29 (one of the pair).

Catalogue Note

Towering at impressive dimensions and featuring a striking design of ferocious five-clawed dragons amidst dense lotus scrolls, the pair epitomises the pinnacle of imperial craftsmanship during the Jiajing reign. Over his tumultuous forty-six-year reign, Emperor Shizong faced invasion from the north, political turmoil and several attempts on his life. In response to these external threats, he soon chose to live beyond the chaos of the Forbidden City, embracing Daoism and embarking on a search for immortality that would inadvertently change the course of Chinese art history in its wake. To furnish Beijing’s new palace gardens and Daoist temples, the Jiajing court ordered huge quantities of ceramics; so much so that works had to also be commissioned from neighbouring unofficial kilns in Jingdezhen, stimulating a new wave of vibrant and creative porcelain production, totally unmatched in the preceding Hongzhi and Zhengde reigns.

There seem to have been no other pairs of jars and covers of such massive size recorded in private or public collections, making this example exceptionally rare. Jiajing jars of such extraordinary size and design still retaining their cover are rare and very seldom come to market. Compare similar covered single jars preserved in the world’s most important collections, including: a slightly smaller (54.2 cm) example in the Palace Museum, Beijing, in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Blue and White Porcelain with Underglaze Red, vol. II, Shanghai, 2000, pl. 96; another jar and cover of this type, excavated in the outskirts of Beijing, now preserved in the Capital Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Zhongguo taoci quanji, vol. 12, Shanghai, 2000, pl. 163; a third example in the Asian Art Museum, San Francisco (accession no. B60P99+.a-.b), illustrated in René-Yvon Lefebvre d’Argencé, Chinese Ceramics in the Avery Brundage Collection, Berkeley, 1967, pl. LIV; a fourth in the Fondation Baur, Geneva, illustrated in John Ayers, Chinese Ceramics in the Baur Collection, Geneva, 1999, vol. I, pl. 73; a fifth in Sekai tōji zenshu / Ceramic Art of the World, vol. 14, Tokyo, 1976, pl. 212; and a sixth, illustrated in Min Shin no bijutsu [Arts of the Ming and Qing], Tokyo, 1982, pl. 92. Also compare a similar Jiajing dragon jar and cover from the Sixuezhai Collection, sold in these rooms, 7th October 2006, lot 919; a jar included in Chinese Ceramics in the Idemitsu Collection, Tokyo, 1987, pl. 707; and another in the Musée Guimet, Paris, published in The World's Great Collections. Oriental Ceramics, vol. 7, Tokyo, 1981, col. pl. 81.