An exceptionally rare Longquan celadon washer, Southern Song dynasty | 南宋 龍泉青釉五足洗

A Japanese private collection.

This rare Longquan celadon-glazed washer is a masterpiece of the Southern Song dynasty, distinguished by its elegant form supported on five feet and its lustrous, thick glaze. The sophisticated design, featuring five small studs on the rim and raised ribbed decoration, indicates that it was produced for the imperial court during the early to mid-Southern Song period (circa 1170). The form is directly inspired by imperial Guan and Ge wares of the period, a highly complex and refined shape that would have been inconceivable for ordinary commercial kiln potters to invent independently.

Archaeological excavations at the ruins of the Southern Song capital, Lin'an (present-day Hangzhou), have unearthed similar Longquan shards, corroborating the imperial connection of this specific form. Furthermore, the relationship between the Longquan kilns and the Southern Song court is firmly established by various excavated Longquan shards bearing imperial inscriptions. For instance, a Longquan shard with an underglaze carved inscription of Deshou Gong (Deshou Palace) was discovered at the former site of the Hangzhou Southeast Chemical Plant. Other excavated shards from Hangzhou construction sites bear wheel-cut inscriptions such as Yuan, Shoucheng Dian (Shoucheng Hall), and Cifu (Cifu Palace). Notably, near the site of the Xiuneisi Guan kiln, a Longquan dish fragment was found featuring an underglaze inscription written in white slip reading Xiuneisi Pingjiang Xie Xingzu. These findings unequivocally demonstrate that the Longquan kilns were commissioned to produce wares for imperial use during the early Southern Song period.

For comparable examples of this rare form in other imperial wares, see a Southern Song dynasty Ge-glazed five-footed washer in the collection of the Shanghai Museum (assertion no. CI00000300); and a Southern Song Ge-type yellow-glazed washer described as a flower-pot-stand or censer, preserved in the Sir Percival David Collection in the British Museum (accession no. PDF,A.40). For a closely related Longquan celadon-glazed washer of this exact type, see the example formerly in the collection of Mrs Alfred Clark, subsequently sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 21st May, lot 5834.

來源

日本私人收藏

本件龍泉青釉五足洗為南宋時期之傑作，應為南宋中早期（約1170年前後）專為宮廷燒製之御用瓷器。其器形淵源可直接追溯至南宋官窯及哥窯之經典樣式。

南宋都城臨安（今杭州）城遺址曾出土與本品同類之龍泉窯殘片，進一步印證了此類器物與宮廷的密切聯繫。此外，杭州出土的多件帶有銘文的龍泉窯殘片，亦為龍泉窯曾為南宋宮廷燒造瓷器提供了確鑿的考古證據。例如，原杭州東南化工廠工地曾出土一塊帶有釉下刻「德壽宮」銘文的南宋龍泉窯殘片；杭州其他工地亦曾出土砣刻「苑」、「壽成殿」、「慈福」等銘文之殘片。更值得注意的是，在南宋修內司官窯遺址附近，曾出土一塊南宋龍泉窯盤殘片，其底部釉下以白釉堆寫「修内司平江謝興祖……」等字。凡此種種，皆力證龍泉窯在南宋時期曾承接御用瓷器之燒造。

參考其他御窯之同類器形，上海博物館藏有一件南宋哥窯五足洗（館藏編號CI00000300）；大英博物館大維德爵士藏品中亦有一件相類之官窯五足洗（館藏編號：PDF,A.40），皆可資比較。與本品極為相似之龍泉青釉五足洗作例，可參考艾爾弗雷德・克拉克夫人舊藏之一例，後售於香港蘇富比5月21日，拍品編號5834。