A SANCAI-GLAZED PHOENIX-HEADED EWER TANG DYNASTY | 唐 三彩貼花鳳首壺

Modelled in the form of a Sasanian metal ewer and applied with Hellenistic-inspired decoration, this ewer embodies the commercial and cultural exchange that characterises the art of the early Tang dynasty. Margaret Medley in Metalwork and Chinese Ceramics, London, 1972 (p. 4), discusses the far-reaching effect on Tang potters of the opening of diplomatic relations between the Chinese Emperor Yangdi of the Sui dynasty (581-618) and the Sasanian Persian Empire (224-651), which led to the exchange of tributary gifts as well as the arrival of Persian craftsmen at the Imperial court in the Tang capital Chang'an (today's Xi'an, Shaanxi). Compare a similar ewer from the George Eumorfopoulos collection, now in the British Museum, London (no. 1936,1012.1), illustrated in R.L. Hobson, The Eumorfopoulos Collection, vol. 1, London, 1925, col. pl. L, fig. 389.

本品形仿薩珊王朝金屬執壺，綴古希臘風格紋飾，反映早唐與外邦貿易及文化交流成果，頗具典型早唐藝術風範。學者 Margaret Medley 論述，隋煬帝與波斯薩珊王朝（公元224-651年）建交，促成兩國互呈珍品，波斯藝匠更因而遠赴唐都長安（今陝西省西安），詳見《Metalwork and Chinese Ceramics》，倫敦，1972年，頁4。如此交流，對後世影響深遠，唐代工匠亦受其啟發。 相類鳳首壺，可參考尤莫弗普勒斯舊藏例，現存倫敦大英博物館，圖見 R.L. Hobson，《The Eumorfopoulos Collection》，卷1，倫敦，1925年，彩圖L，圖389。