三彩筆記 vol.58 蘇黎世瑞特堡博物館：唐三彩藍釉鴨蓮紋三足盤，玫茵堂收藏 - Tang Sancai Glazed Blue Glazed Dish with Ducks and Lotus Design, Meiyintang Collection, Tang Dynasty

2020年倫敦曾出現一件思源堂舊藏佳例，近期蘇富比岡田博物館專場亦有一件經修復之例，以約107萬港元成交。里特貝格博物館所藏此盤，釉色飽滿、造型規整、畫面完整，堪稱上乘之作，生動展現唐人對自然生命與盛世氣象的深切熱愛。

參考：

拍賣筆記 vol.353 蘇富比倫敦2020：思源堂，唐三彩藍釉寶相花紋三足盤 - Sotheby’s London 2020, Sze Yuan Tang, A Blue And Sancai-Glazed Tripod Dish, Tang Dynasty

拍賣筆記 vol.273 蘇富比香港：唐三彩加藍寶相花三足盤，岡田博物館（修復），107.95萬港元成交 - A blue and sancai-glazed tripod dish, Tang dynasty, 8th century (restored) Sold for 1m HKD

唐三彩藍釉鴨蓮紋三足盤

唐代

直徑29.3厘米

瑞士蘇黎世里特貝格博物館（Museum Rietberg）典藏

MYT 1273號，源自玫茵堂基金會（Meiyintang Foundation）長期借展

玫茵堂（意為「玫園中的堂舍」）為瑞士著名收藏家祖利希兄弟（Zuellig brothers）——吉爾伯特·祖利希（Gilbert Zuellig）與斯蒂芬·祖利希（Stephen Zuellig）——歷經半世紀精心構築的中國陶瓷珍藏。吉爾伯特專注於新石器時代至宋代的早期陶器與瓷器，其藏品被公認為西方世界最重要的中國早期陶瓷私人收藏之一。2012年起，玫茵堂基金會將逾六百件精品長期借展予里特貝格博物館，使該館中國藝術部門成為國際學界與愛好者研究唐宋陶瓷的重要基地。

此盤為唐代（8世紀）三彩陶器之精絕代表，以低溫鉛釉技法燒製，呈現黃、綠、白及褐等多彩交融的釉面效果。盤心主題為鴨戲蓮塘：數隻水鴨或悠游或嬉戲於盛開蓮花與茂密荷葉之間，構圖疏密有致，動靜相生，充滿生機與自然情趣。外壁飾以簡潔蓮瓣或波紋，展現唐代陶瓷自由奔放、色彩斑斕的審美風格。此類大尺寸侍盤（serving dish）在唐三彩中已屬稀有，而以鴨蓮組合如此生動完整者，更為難得。

唐三彩藍釉的運用尤具重要意義。藍色源自中亞（波斯）進口的鈷料，成本高昂，燒成難度極大，在唐代屬極為珍貴的顏料，多見於皇室貴胄墓葬或高階器物中。武則天時期（690–705年），藍釉三彩在宮廷與貴族生活中尤為盛行，成為盛唐開放繁榮與中外文化交融的象徵——鈷藍的引入正反映絲綢之路上的物質與技術交流。此盤雖以傳統黃綠白為主調，但其整體色彩層次與唐代藍釉三彩的精神一脈相承，共同體現那個時代對絢麗色彩與異域風情的熱烈追求。

此類唐代三彩大盤絕對存世量極為有限。

Tang Sancai Glazed Blue Glazed Dish with Ducks and Lotus Design

Tang Dynasty (8th century)

Diameter: 29.3 cm Museum Rietberg, Zurich, MYT 1273 – on long-term loan from the Meiyintang Foundation.

The Meiyintang Collection (“Hall among Rosebeds”) is one of the most important private assemblies of Chinese ceramics ever formed in the West. Assembled over five decades by the Swiss Zuellig brothers — Gilbert Zuellig (specializing in early wares from the Neolithic through the Song dynasty) and Stephen Zuellig — the collection is renowned for its scholarly depth and aesthetic quality. Since 2012, the Meiyintang Foundation has placed over six hundred exceptional pieces on long-term loan to the Museum Rietberg in Zurich, establishing the museum as a premier destination for the study of early Chinese ceramics.

This vibrant sancai (“three-color”) glazed dish exemplifies the bold ceramic artistry of the High Tang period (8th century). Executed in low-fired lead glazes, it displays a rich palette of amber-yellow, green, creamy white, and brown tones. The central scene depicts ducks frolicking amid blooming lotuses and lush foliage, a lively and harmonious composition full of natural vitality. The exterior is decorated with simplified lotus petals or wave patterns, reflecting the free-spirited and polychromatic aesthetic of Tang ceramics. Large serving dishes of this scale and iconography are already rare within the sancai repertoire; examples with such complete and animated duck-and-lotus motifs are exceptionally scarce.

The use of cobalt-blue glaze in Tang sancai holds particular significance. Derived from costly imported cobalt ore from Central Asia (Persia), blue was the most expensive and technically demanding color in the sancai palette. It was largely reserved for imperial and aristocratic contexts. During the reign of Empress Wu Zetian (r. 690–705), the only female emperor in Chinese history, blue-glazed sancai wares reached a notable peak, symbolizing the cosmopolitan openness, material prosperity, and cultural exchanges along the Silk Road that defined the Tang empire. Although this dish primarily employs the classic yellow-green-white triad, its sophisticated color layering shares the same aesthetic spirit as contemporary blue-glazed sancai, embodying the Tang fascination with luminous, multi-hued surfaces and exotic influences.

Tang sancai serving dishes of this quality and subject matter survive in extremely limited numbers. Comparables include an example from the Si Yuan Tang Collection offered in London in 2020, and a recently auctioned restored piece at Sotheby’s that realized approximately HKD 1.07 million (see records on artsaca.com).

Preserved in the Museum Rietberg under the Meiyintang loan, this dish stands as a vivid testament to the aesthetic confidence, technical mastery, and celebration of life that characterize the Tang dynasty at its zenith.