A fine pair of famille-rose 'chicken' cups with imperial poem, Fanggu seal marks and period of Qianlong | 清乾隆 粉彩御題詩雞缸盃一對 《大清乾隆仿古》款 、「乾」、「隆」印

Shimentang Collection.

Eskenazi Ltd, London, 2012.

石門堂收藏

埃斯卡納齊，倫敦，2012年

From its first appearance on porcelains of the Chenghua period of the Ming dynasty, this charming motif of a cockerel, hen and chicks enjoyed continued popularity at court, especially during the Yongzheng and Qianlong reigns. While the form and design of the cup are altered markedly from the prototype, the Qianlong fanggu mark (‘Exemplifying antiquity during the Qianlong Reign of the Great Qing Dynasty’) and the poetic inscription clearly reflect the Qianlong Emperor’s admiration for the Ming dynasty prototypes.

Similar cups are held in important museum collections worldwide, including a pair in the Palace Museum, Taipei, included in the Museum’s Special Exhibition of K’ang-hsi, Yung-cheng and Ch’ien-lung Porcelain Ware from the Ch’ing Dynasty in the Palace Museum, Taipei, 1986, cat. no. 144; one included in the exhibition Selected Ceramics from the Collection of Mr and Mrs J.M. Hu, Shanghai Museum, Shanghai, 1989, cat. no. 64; another included in the exhibition Joined Colours, Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C., 1993, cat. no. 64; and two cups from the Sir Percival David collection now in the British Museum, London, published in the Illustrated Catalogue of Qing Enamelled Wares, London, 1991, pls A823 and A827. 

The poem written on this cup, which was composed by the Qianlong Emperor in 1776, identifies the boy as Jia Chang (b. AD 713), a child prodigy who began training at the age of thirteen to fight cocks for the Xuanzong Emperor (AD 713-56). The boy is painted on tiptoe, possibly to form the rebus qiao zu er dai, meaning ‘to expect something to be soon forthcoming’.

雞缸盃首見於明代成化朝，紋飾繪雄雞、牝雞及雛雞，盛行不衰，尤其風行於雍乾時期，本品器形與紋飾設計異於成窰版本，「乾隆仿古」、御題詩，反映乾隆皇帝對於成化雞缸盃之傾慕與喜愛。

全球各大博物館之相類藏品，如台北故宮博物院藏一對，展出於《清康雍乾名瓷特展》，台北，1986年，編號144；另一例出版於《胡惠春先生王華雲女士捐贈瓷器精品選》，上海博物館，1989年，編號4；還有一例錄於《Joined Colours》，賽克勒美術館，華盛頓特區，1993年，編號64；大維德基金會藏二盃，現貯於倫敦大英博物館，載於《Illustrated Catalogue of Qing Enamelled Wares》，倫敦，1991年，圖版 A823、A827。

乾隆皇帝御題詩，作於1776年，述紋飾中人物為賈昌（713年生），十三歲即開始為唐玄宗（在位713-56年）馴養鬥雞，此處翹足而待，極是生動。