An exceptionally rare and fine Ru-type lotus-bud-form bottle vase, Seal mark and period of Qianlong | 清乾隆 仿汝釉七孔花插 《大清乾隆年製》款

Acquired in Iran prior to 1970, and thence by descent.

來源：

1970年前得於伊朗，此後家族傳承

Veiled with a luminous glaze, the present vase is extremely rare and represents the height of innovation and technical perfection achieved at the Jingdezhen kilns in Jiangxi province during the Qianlong Emperor's reign. Remarkable for its perfection in form, its generous, rounded sides rise from a short foot to a long, slender neck, terminating in a lotus-pod-form mouth with seven equally spaced apertures to the top. The ingenuous incorporation of the lotus-pod-form with the soft, attractive Ru-imitation glaze furthermore speaks to the kilns' creative ability to produce wares that highly catered to the Emperor's own aesthetic taste and affinities.

Rising immaculately undefiled from the muddy waters, the lotus was frequently associated with purity, integrity and most importantly, the Confucian notion of virtue. The aquatic flower also became associated with Buddhism, symbolizing the power of the soul to emerge from the physical world, samsara, and to achieve enlightenment. Obviously aware of these traditional notions, the Qianlong Emperor, similar to his predecessors, continued to sponsor artworks featuring such motifs. Known to be a prolific poet, the Qianlong Emperor especially enjoyed his stays at the imperial gardens of Chengde, and composed countless poems praising the lotus ponds there. In a painting scroll, attributed to Giuseppe Castiglione, now in the Palace Museum, Beijing (accession no. 故00006476), Qianlong is seen dressed in a traditional Han-style robe, playing the qin in a pavilion over the water looking out to the open lotus pond below. To his side, blooming stems of lotus flowers and lotus leaves are neatly arranged in a vase, further pointing to the Emperor's special fondness of the flower. Vases, like the present, were then likely ordered by the Emperor or the court to imitate the shape of a lotus pod for the arrangement of flowers to be personally enjoyed by the Qianlong Emperor himself.

To further enhance the attractiveness of the vase, the craftsmen at the Jingdezhen kilns covered the vessel in a soft blue-green glaze, save for the brown-dressed foot rim, inspired by the famed Ru kiln of the Song dynasty. By the Qing dynasty, Ru wares were already so extremely rare that the Yongzheng Emperor sent originals of various surviving examples from the palace in Beijing to the Jingdezhen kilns to have them carefully studied and copied. These original Song Ru wares inspired a whole range of Ru-type vessels with luminous bluish-green glaze. Building on the high caliber of skill achieved under the direction of the Yongzheng Emperor, the Qianlong Emperor also continued to commission Ru-imitation wares during his reign. He furthermore contributed to the fame of the ware by composing poems praising Ru wares and having them engraved on pieces from the Imperial storerooms.

The Emperor was also especially fond of artistic illusions. From the floor-to-ceiling trompe l'oeil paintings (tongjinghua), in the Studio of Diligent Service (Juanqinzhai), that connected the interior with the outside, to the countless cross-medium imperial porcelain imitations of bronze, glass and much more, he was constantly captivated by the novel. Thus, he would have delighted in the present vase, which is simultaneously inspired by nature but also a vessel for it, bringing a piece of the outside to the interior palace rooms. Combined with its attractive Ru-type glaze and highly creative and elegant form, it would have surely been treasured by the Qianlong Emperor dearly.

Only very few examples of this type are known, and they are all housed in the National Palace Museum, Taipei: see two vases, glazed similarly in a Ru-type glaze with a brown dressed foot, of slightly larger size (23.2 cm and 23.3 cm) (accession nos 中瓷004963N000000000 and 中瓷004964N000000000) (Fig. 1); and two others, covered in a Guan-type glaze, also with a brown-dressed foot, of similar size (22.1 cm and 22.4 cm) (accession nos 中瓷001191N000000000 and 中瓷001190N000000000). Exceedingly rare, the present lot appears to be one of the only vases of its type and quality in private hands.

本瓶珍稀罕見，仿汝釉明亮雅緻，彰顯乾隆年間江西景德鎮匠心造詣。此瓶器型勻稱，球狀碩腹，圈足，瓶頸修長，上開七小圓孔如蓮蓬狀。蓮蓬造型配仿汝釉色，體現藝匠巧思，堪稱一絕，燒成佳瓷迎合皇帝美學喜好。

蓮花出淤泥而不染，多為純潔、正直象徵，更能代表儒家崇尚德行之觀念。此外，蓮花亦屬重要佛教符號象徵，代表得道成佛、超脫物質世界及輪迴等概念。大清皇帝如康熙御令燒製傳統紋飾瓷器，乾隆皇帝當然亦熟悉相關傳統概念，登位後繼續以之作為宮廷藝術主題。乾隆曾寫御製詩無數，其中包括多首讚賞承德避暑山莊蓮池之作。比較郎世寧畫《弘曆觀荷撫琴圖軸》，現藏北京故宮博物院（藏品編號：故00006476），刻劃乾隆身著傳統漢服，在水邊亭台觀荷撫琴，身伴荷花盛放，整齊排列瓶中，進一步展示弘曆愛荷之情。本瓶形仿蓮蓬，相信乃乾隆帝御令或宮廷指定特製，以擺放鮮花，供乾隆帝個人欣賞。

除圈足抹黑褐色護胎汁外，全器罩施柔和泛藍青釉，仿效宋代汝窰，可想像景德鎮藝匠精益求精之不倦追求。時至清代，汝窰已屬極罕，為仿汝瓷，清世宗曾敕將各式清宮御藏汝器自紫禁城南送景德鎮御窰，仔細研究，仿製燒造，從而啟發一系列青釉泛藍之仿汝珍瓷，明亮瑩潤。雍正年間，御窰成就超凡，乾隆帝在此高超技藝基礎之上續燒仿汝瓷，並寫御製詩讚賞其美，題於清宮御藏汝瓷之上。

此外，乾隆皇帝特別鍾情巧用藝術錯覺之藝術作品，紫禁城倦勤齋，通景畫覆蓋四壁及穹頂，與齋內陳設及室外景觀互相對應；而乾隆年間模仿青銅、琉璃等材質之瓷器無數，可見其對新奇創作之喜愛。本瓶取靈感於自然，同時又供擺放花卉，從而將室外自然環境帶進宮殿之中，如此巧思，相信定為乾隆所喜。加諸素雅仿汝釉，器形典雅而創新，想必倍受皇帝珍視。

相近作例甚為鮮見，均藏於台北故宮博物院，參考兩仿汝瓶例，釉色相似，足沿露胎處塗抹黑褐色護胎汁，尺寸稍大（23.2公分及23.3公分）（館藏編號 中瓷004963N000000000及 中瓷004964N000000000）（圖1）；另有兩仿官釉例，亦為鐵褐足，尺寸相近（22.1公分和22.4公分）（館藏編號 中瓷001191N000000000及 中瓷001190N000000000）。本品極為珍罕，同類上乘作例絕少見於私人收藏，這次現身拍賣場實屬難得，藏家萬勿錯過。