拍賣筆記 vol.443 蘇富比紐約2026：隋末至初唐白釉舞馬，郎朗老師格拉夫曼收藏 - Sotheby’s New York 2026, A Straw-Glazed Pottery Figure Of A Prancing Horse, Graffman Collection, Late Sui to Early Tang Dynasty
- SACA
- 2 days ago
- 12 min read
隋末至初唐白釉舞馬，高40.6公分。蘇富比紐約，「加里·格拉夫曼珍藏中國藝術品」，2026年9月16日。估價10,000–15,000美元。來源：埃斯肯納齊，倫敦，1977年9月12日。馬作騰踏姿：一前蹄提起，頭微轉，口張，立於長方座。通體青黃鉛釉（straw glaze），鞍具模印。眼部殘留紅彩。蘇富比定為唐。以體態、釉系與加彩殘跡看，更近隋末至初唐：清瘦、青釉為地、釉上加彩。
SACA觀察
來源是這件馬的第一看點。1977年9月12日，倫敦埃斯肯納齊。Eskenazi 當時剛進入真正起飛的十年，所推的是雕塑感夠強、可進博物館與大藏家庫房的唐代器物，可理解為西方品味最為推崇的中國藝術之一。同場格拉夫曼其餘各件，多為1990年代香港或更晚入藏。本件早二十年，且落在這家字號的發票上，層級不同。1977年的 Eskenazi 標籤，至今仍是國際排行的硬通貨。
這類馬應從隋末初唐的青釉系統讀，不應從盛唐三彩讀。隋代陶馬常見黃釉或青黃釉為地，釉上再加紅、黑、白彩。釉先燒，彩後繪，冷繪易脫，後世往往只剩一層釉。覺是軒曾展隋代黃釉加彩馬，即此工序。松岡美術館有同款青釉、黃釉加彩例。王秋生《千古躍動：松岡美術館的中國古陶瓷之光》（《財新mini+》，2026年4月11–12日；上、下）記白金台館藏漢至唐陶的序列，並回溯清次郎1974年梅耶專場起家的路徑；館方策展判斷，帶加彩的隋代馬存世並不多。本件高40.6公分，在這一類型裡是大號。本拍品眼部紅彩未褪盡，與上述隋製特徵吻合：不是後描，可理解為原工藝的殘留。
松岡美術館，隋代白釉加彩馬
騰踏不是四平站立。一蹄離地，重心在三足，塑形難於靜立。盛唐三彩也作騰踏，但體量與釉色已換系統。本件無三彩潑彩，無費爾干納式厚胸。清瘦頸、青釉薄罩，是隋到初唐的過渡。市場習慣把所有「唐馬」推進三彩大馬的價格邏輯，青釉騰踏於是被忽略。判斷應倒過來：它是另一條線，存世量小於盛唐三彩立馬，只是認知尚未分開。
王秋生〈馬年說唐馬：嘯天之姿，風骨之證〉（《財新週刊》2026年第7期）把唐馬從「好看的俑」拉回到制度：官牧、私牧、戰馬與階級圖騰。三彩大馬是盛唐那一套的物證；青釉加彩騰踏則更早一層，對應的是釉上加彩尚未讓位於潑釉之前的階段。二者都是馬，不是同一個市場。〈幫我買下整場吧！佳士得倫敦1974年梅耶專場〉寫清次郎在拍場上的「衝勁」——與賽克勒式的佈局相對。松岡後來的唐馬群，包括館藏加彩、青釉諸例，正是這股衝勁落地後的結果。本件1977年經 Eskenazi，時間上緊接清次郎建館之後的倫敦市場，同屬那十年把唐俑做成雕塑的脈絡。
佳士得舊錄一件青黃釉騰踏馬，高16英寸（40.6公分），與本件同高。蘇富比紐約2007年 Albright-Knox 舊藏素陶加彩騰踏馬，估60,000–90,000美元，無釉、博物館舊藏，塑形更繁。佳士得歐洲舊藏加彩騰踏馬，高52.1公分，Mount Trust、John Sparks，1955年東方陶瓷學會唐展，體量與著錄高一檔。三彩大馬——普利茲克飲水馬、2013年紐約成對大馬——是另一個市場。本件估10,000–15,000美元，以 Eskenazi 1977年傳承來看，是十分理性的低估價；若從釉上加彩判斷，存世量其實不多，應屬認知窪地。
關於藏家與經手
埃斯肯納齊（Giuseppe Eskenazi）為戰後倫敦中國藝術最重要的經營者之一。1970年代經手的唐馬，後來進入鐵路基金、普利茲克、松岡等收藏。1977年9月12日是畫廊交易日，早於格拉夫曼1981年首訪中國。本件在音樂家收藏裡屬於早期、且唯一標明 Eskenazi 的馬。
加里·格拉夫曼（1928–2025），柯蒂斯音樂學院院長。1979年後專攻左手與教學，郎朗、王羽佳、張昊辰出其門下。中國藝術收藏始於Julius Katchen，1981年起訪華。本場收益歸蓋瑞及娜歐蜜·格拉夫曼基金會。
隋末至初唐 白釉舞馬
年代：隋末–初唐（拍賣行定唐）
尺寸：高40.6 cm（16 in.）
估價：10,000–15,000美元
來源：Eskenazi Ltd.，倫敦，1977年9月12日；其後加里·格拉夫曼收藏
拍賣：蘇富比紐約，2026年9月16日
FAQ
Q1：為何不直接從唐三彩馬來定？
釉系不同。三彩是黃、綠、白（或加藍）二次低溫潑彩，盛於八世紀。本件是青黃單色鉛釉，彩在釉上，屬隋至初唐。器形清瘦，亦非盛唐厚胸。混稱會把價格錨錯。
Q2：眼部紅彩說明什麼？
隋代黃釉、青釉馬常在釉上加彩，彩為冷繪，易脫。紅彩殘在眼部，與覺是軒所展隋黃釉加彩馬、松岡所見同款一致。可作為原有加彩的證據，不是後世描畫。
Q3：Eskenazi 1977年這條來源有多重？
在唐馬一類裡，1970年代 Eskenazi 是第一來源層。同時代經其手的三彩馬，日後可到百萬美元以上。本件不是三彩，來源的分量仍在：有發票日期的倫敦字號，早於大多數美國私人收藏的入藏時間。
Q4：10,000–15,000美元如何理解？
這是紐約日場給「非三彩、中型馬」的習慣估價。同高的青釉騰踏在舊佳士得已出現；完整加彩、博物館舊藏的騰踏則在六萬美元以上。現估沒有單列 Eskenazi 與釉上紅彩。
A straw-glazed pottery figure of a prancing horse, catalogued as Tang dynasty. Height 16 in. (40.6 cm). Sotheby’s New York, The Collection of Gary Graffman, 16 September 2026. Estimate US$10,000–15,000. Provenance: Eskenazi Ltd., London, 12 September 1977.
The horse prances: one foreleg raised, the head turned, the mouth open, standing on a rectangular base. A straw-yellow lead glaze covers the body; the saddle is moulded. Red pigment remains in the eyes. Sotheby’s gives a Tang date. The lean frame, monochrome straw glaze and traces of overglaze colour sit more comfortably in late Sui to early Tang. The heavy chest and splashed sancai of High Tang horses are not yet present.
SACA Observation
Provenance is the first fact. Eskenazi Ltd., London, 12 September 1977. The gallery was then entering the decade in which it established itself. What it put forward were Tang objects with enough sculptural presence to enter museums and major private collections—among the forms of Chinese art most highly regarded by Western taste. The rest of the Graffman ceramics were bought mostly in Hong Kong in the 1990s or later. This horse is twenty years earlier and sits on that firm’s invoice. The Eskenazi label of 1977 remains hard currency on the international ranking.
The type belongs to the late Sui–early Tang straw-glaze series. It should not be read through High Tang sancai. Sui horses are often covered in yellow or straw-yellow glaze, with red, black and white applied after the firing. The glaze is fired first; the pigments are painted cold and are fugitive. Later owners usually see only the glaze. Priestley & Ferraro have shown Sui yellow-glazed horses with remaining paint—the same sequence of work. The Matsuoka Museum holds comparable straw- and yellow-glazed examples with traces of colour. Wang Qiusheng’s two-part essay ‘千古跃动：松冈美术馆的中国古陶瓷之光’ (Caixin mini+, 11–12 April 2026; I, II) sets out the Han-to-Tang ceramic sequence in Shirokanedai and traces Seijiro Matsuoka’s emergence at the 1974 Mayer sale. The museum’s curatorial view is that Sui horses with surviving polychrome are few. At 40.6 cm the present horse is large for the type. The red remaining in the eyes matches that Sui surface: not later paint, but what is left of the original work.
Prancing is not standing foursquare. One hoof off the ground throws the weight onto three legs and is harder to model than a static stance. High Tang sancai uses the pose as well, but in another glaze system and another scale. This horse has no splashed three-colour glaze and no Ferghana barrel chest. The lean neck and thin straw coat mark the Sui-to-early-Tang transition. The market still folds every ‘Tang horse’ into the sancai price structure; the straw-glazed prancer is simply overlooked. The order should be reversed. This is a separate line, scarcer than standing High Tang sancai horses. The recognition has not yet split.
Wang’s ‘马年说唐马：啸天之姿，风骨之证’ (Caixin Weekly, no. 7, 2026, https://weekly.caixin.com/2026-02-21/102415995.html) takes the Tang horse out of the category of attractive tomb figures and returns it to institutions: official pastures, private herds, war horses, and a class emblem. The large sancai horse is the material evidence of High Tang. The straw-glazed, painted prancer belongs one stage earlier, before overglaze colour gave way to splashed glaze. Both are horses. They are not one market. ‘帮我买下整场吧！佳士得伦敦1974年梅耶专场拍卖风云’ (https://opinion.caixin.com/2026-01-30/102409519.html) describes Matsuoka’s ‘impetus’ in the room, set against Sackler’s longer layout. The Matsuoka group of Tang horses, including the painted and straw-glazed examples in the museum, is what that impetus became. The present horse left Eskenazi in 1977, in the London market that followed the founding of the Matsuoka Museum, and in the same decade that treated Tang tomb sculpture as sculpture.
Comparanda should not be used to move prices across glaze families. Christie’s has recorded a greenish straw-glazed prancing horse at 16 in. (40.6 cm)—the same height. Sotheby’s New York, 2007, the Albright-Knox unglazed painted prancer, estimated US$60,000–90,000, was a museum object without glaze and with a more elaborate surface. Christie’s European painted prancer, 52.1 cm, Mount Trust and John Sparks, shown at the OCS Tang exhibition in 1955, stands a class above in scale and publication. Sancai horses—the Pritzker bowing horse, the 2013 New York pair—belong to another market. The estimate of US$10,000–15,000, read against an Eskenazi provenance of 1977, is a rational undervaluation. Judged by surviving overglaze polychrome, examples are few. The gap is one of recognition.
On the collector and the trade
Giuseppe Eskenazi was the principal London dealer in Chinese art after the war. Tang horses that passed through the gallery in the 1970s later entered the British Rail Pension Fund, the Pritzker collection and the Matsuoka Museum. 12 September 1977 is a gallery date, earlier than Graffman’s first journey to China in 1981. In this musician’s collection the horse is the early piece, and the only one marked Eskenazi.
Gary Graffman (1928–2025) trained at the Curtis Institute and later served as its president. After 1979 he built a left-hand repertoire and a teaching line that includes Lang Lang, Yuja Wang and Haochen Zhang. His interest in Chinese art began with Julius Katchen and with travel to China from 1981. Proceeds benefit the Gary and Naomi Graffman Foundation.
FAQ
Q1: Why not price it as a Tang sancai horse?
The glaze system is different. Sancai is a second, low-fired splash of yellow, green and white (sometimes blue), mature in the eighth century. This horse has a single straw-yellow lead glaze with colour applied over it, a Sui to early Tang practice. The body is lean, not the High Tang chest. Mixing the two sets the wrong anchor.
Q2: What does the red at the eye mean?
Sui yellow- and straw-glazed horses were often painted after the glaze firing. The pigments are fugitive. Red surviving in the eye matches the Sui yellow-glazed painted horses shown by Priestley & Ferraro and the related example at Matsuoka. It is evidence of the original surface, not later paint.
Q3: How much weight does Eskenazi 1977 carry?
In Tang horses, Eskenazi of the 1970s is a first-tier source. Sancai horses from the same decade later reached seven figures. This is not sancai. The invoice still matters: a dated London gallery sale, earlier than most American private purchases of the type.
Q4: How should US$10,000–15,000 be read?
It is the New York day-sale band for a non-sancai horse of mid size. A straw-glazed prancer of the same height has already appeared at Christie’s. Intact painted museum prancers have been estimated above US$60,000. The present figure does not isolate Eskenazi or the red at the eye.
Title: A straw-glazed pottery figure of a prancing horse
Date: late Sui–early Tang (catalogued as Tang)
Dimensions: Height 16 in., 40.6 cm
Estimate: US$10,000–15,000
Provenance: Eskenazi Ltd., London, 12 September 1977; Collection of Gary Graffman
Auction: Sotheby’s New York, 16 September 2026
SACA學會相關筆記 / SACA Notes
展覽筆記 vol.23 松岡美術館三彩特展
拍賣筆記 vol.326 普利茲克藏唐三彩黑釉飲水馬，埃斯肯納齊舊藏
拍賣筆記 vol.351 佳士得紐約：三彩加藍馬倌，埃斯肯納齊、Max N. Berry
三彩筆記 vol.36 故宮唐三彩馬（文中並及 Eskenazi 售松岡之例）
拍賣筆記 vol.298 覺是軒：紅彩陶立馬
參考文獻 / References
Christie’s, A greenish straw-glazed pottery model of a prancing horse, Tang dynasty, 16 in. (40.6 cm) high. https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-1379725
Sotheby’s New York, 2007, lot 509. An unglazed painted prancing horse, Tang dynasty, Albright-Knox Art Gallery. Estimate US$60,000–90,000. https://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2007/fine-chinese-ceramics-and-works-of-art-including-property-from-the-collection-of-the-albright-knox-art-gallery-buffalo-new-york-n08299/lot.509.html
Christie’s, A large painted pottery figure of a prancing horse, 52.1 cm. Mount Trust; John Sparks, 1976. Exhibited: OCS, The Arts of the T’ang Dynasty, 1955, no. 49. https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-6167670
松岡美術館，《千古躍動 漢から唐までの中國陶磁》，2026。https://www.matsuoka-museum.jp/contents/10297/
SACA，《展覽筆記 vol.23 松岡美術館三彩特展》。https://www.artsaca.com/post/exhibit23
SACA，《拍賣筆記 vol.326》。https://www.artsaca.com/post/auction326
Sotheby’s, sale essay and Lang Lang statement, 28 December 2025.
王秋生，〈千古躍動：松岡美術館的中國古陶瓷之光（上）〉，《財新mini+》，2026年4月11日。
王秋生，〈千古躍動：松岡美術館的中國古陶瓷之光（下）〉，《財新mini+》，2026年4月12日。
王秋生，〈幫我買下整場吧！佳士得倫敦1974年梅耶專場拍賣風雲〉，《財新網·觀點》，2026年1月30日。
相關（唐馬總論，文中並及海外館藏馬）：
11. 王秋生，〈馬年說唐馬：嘯天之姿，風骨之證〉，《財新週刊》2026年第7期，2026年2月21日。
蘇富比資料：
PIANIST. MENTOR. AESTHETE. THE COLLECTION OF GARY GRAFFMAN SOLD TO BENEFIT THE GARY AND NAOMI GRAFFMAN FOUNDATION
A straw-glazed pottery figure of a prancing horse, Tang dynasty
Live auction begins on:
2026 September 16, 09:00 PM HKT
Estimate
10,000 - 15,000 USD
Description
Height 16 in., 40.6 cm
Provenance
Eskenazi Ltd, London, 12th September 1977.
“He loved Chinese culture, wholeheartedly supported Chinese students, devoted himself to collecting Chinese art, and visited China nearly a hundred times in his lifetime. This bond, which transcended oceans and mountains, forever tied him to this land.”
LANG LANG, 28TH DECEMBER 2025
Assembled through decades of joy and discernment, the following collection of Chinese art presents a much overlooked but beloved passion of the late Gary Graffman (1928–2025).
World-renowned for his extraordinary skill at the piano, Graffman began his musical career at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia at the age of seven, where he studied under Isabelle Vengerova and to whence he would return in 1980 as a member of faculty and, by 1995, as the Institute’s president.
A man of indomitable spirit and passion for music, Graman’s performing career was cut short in 1979 with the development of a debilitating condition in his right hand known as focal dystonia. However, despite his inability to perform with his right hand, Graman’s career and passion for the piano were far from over. Graffman continued to express his passion, honing a remarkable repertoire of left-handed pieces, and forged his ultimate legacy — the cultivation of others.
Today, beyond his countless individual successes, Graffman is most celebrated for the skills he noticed and cultivated in others. Beloved by his students, including Lang Lang, Yuja Wang and Haochen Zhang, Graffman is rightly credited with a dual devotion to the music of the piano and those that play it; nurturing young talent and shaping the internationally celebrated musicians of today.
Less well-known but doubtless inspired by the same academic background and refined sensibility was Graman’s fascination with Asian art. First sparked by his friend and fellow pianist Julius Katchen (1926–1969), Graffman soon became a devoted collector. Initially buying casually in Paris, Graman’s interest continued to develop into a passionate endeavor by his later career, assembling a collection of remarkable breadth, quality and character. Attending courses at Columbia University and traveling to China as early as 1981, Graffman delved into the world of Chinese art with a musician’s combination of intellectual curiosity and passion. The result – the following collection – stands as a testament to the musical giant, his careful eye and untiring devotion to the arts.
琴韻•師道•雅懷
加里•格拉夫曼珍藏中國藝術品
所得收益將惠於蓋瑞及娜歐蜜•格拉夫曼基金會
「他深愛中國文化，傾力扶持中國學子，畢生專注於中國藝術收藏，一生曾近百次踏上中國土地。這份情誼，無懼山海之遙，使他與這片土地永結不解之緣。」
郎朗，2025年12月28日
本中國藝術珍藏由加里・格拉夫曼 (1928–2025年) 集成，格拉夫曼以卓越琴藝蜚聲國際，其對中國藝術之熱愛則鮮為人知，花數十年心血集成珍藏，精品琳琅。
格拉夫曼七歲進入費城柯蒂斯音樂學院，師從伊莎貝爾・文格洛娃，1980年重返母校任教，1995年出任院長。
格拉夫曼，意志堅毅，篤志於樂。1979年，其右手罹患局限性肌張力障礙，演奏生涯戛然而止。然此疾未能摧其志，亦未斷其愛，格拉夫曼遂轉而專注左手曲目，錘鍊出一套卓絕琴藝。而其所留最為深遠之遺澤，並非舞台風華，而在於作育英才，桃李芬芳。
除了個人無數成就之外，格拉夫曼更以提攜後進、賞識英才獨具慧眼而備受推崇。他深受學生愛戴，門下英才輩出，郎朗、王羽佳、張昊辰皆曾親炙其教誨；格拉夫曼畢生既傾心於鋼琴藝術，亦篤志於栽培人才，提攜無數後學，成就今日樂壇多位名家，其對鋼琴藝術與音樂教育之貢獻，為世所稱頌。
鮮為人知者，乃格拉夫曼對亞洲藝術之熱愛，此或與其深厚學養及高雅審美一脈相承。其收藏之緣，肇於友人及鋼琴家 Julius Katchen（1926–1969年）啟迪，自巴黎偶然購藏數器後興趣漸濃，及至事業成熟後期，更專心致力蒐羅，遂成一批廣博、優質且彰顯個人品味之珍藏。格拉夫曼曾在哥倫比亞大學修習，並早於1981年前往中國，憑藉音樂家特有之敏銳感悟、求知精神與藝術熱忱，深究中國藝術之堂奧。今所呈諸器，正是其數十載潛心收藏之結晶，不僅映照其鑑賞眼光，亦見證其對藝術終身不渝之情。
Comments