An exquisite parcel-gilt silver 'squirrel and grape' melon-form box and cover, Tang dynasty, 7th - 8th century | 唐七至八世紀　局部鎏金銀葡萄松鼠瓜棱式蓋盒

Walter Hochstadter (1914-2007), New York and Adelaide, acquired in Shanghai in the 1950s.

Christie's New York, 19th March 2009, lot 528.

Eskenazi Limited, London.

Eskenazi Limited at the Ukrainian Institute, New York, 2011.

Early Chinese Metalwork in Gold and Silver; Works of Art of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Eskenazi Limited, New York, 2011, cat. no. 7.

Tang: Ceramics, Metalwork and Sculpture, Eskenazi Limited, New York, 2021, cat. no. 29.

Giuseppe Eskenazi in collaboration with Hajni Elias, A Dealer’s Hand. The Chinese Art World Through the Eyes of Giuseppe Eskenazi, London, 2012; Chinese edition, Shanghai, 2015, reprint, 2017, fig. 439.

Exquisitely crafted, this charming parcel-gilt silver box is distinguished by its sumptuous decoration and a squirrel-form finial, captured in a lively posture as it proffers a cluster of grapes—a motif rarely seen in contemporary works. Masterfully cast with eight pronounced lobes, each side is superbly worked in repoussé to depict a vibrant, continuous scroll of leafy vines bearing with clusters of grapes and interspersed with small, naturalistic birds.

While grapes and grapevines were - albeit rather exotic – not uncommon in the repertoire of Tang dynasty silver vessels and mirrors, they were more frequently depicted with lions rather than the squirrel as seen on the current box and cover. The enduring appeal of the grape motif traces a fascinating trajectory in Chinese art, evolving from an exotic emblem of Tang cosmopolitanism into a profoundly auspicious symbol in later dynasties.

Although grapes and grape wine were probably known in China during the Han dynasty, they only gained popularity in the Tang dynasty, particularly among the elite. With the Tang dynasty’s westward expansion along the Silk Road—beginning in the 7th century with the conquest of Gaochang along the northern rim of the Taklamakan Desert in the 7th century, which facilitated Central Asian cultural exchange—tributes of grapes, raisins, and wine would’ve been brought directly to the Tang court.

Beyond its exotic appeal in the Tang dynasty, the squirrel-and-grape motif (songshu putao) became highly popular in later periods as an auspicious motif symbolising fertility, abundance, and family prosperity in later dynasties.

See a similar example sold in our London rooms, 27th November 1973, lot 30, and illustrated in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, vol. 1, London, 1994, p. 105, fig. 25, and a slightly smaller related example, cast with a ‘toad’ finial, preserved in the collection of the Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D. C., acc. no. F1930.39a-b (fig. 1).

For two very similar examples but lacking a finial, see one sold in our London rooms, 10th June 1986, lot 33, and another published in Maurizio Scarpari, Ancient China: Chinese Civilization from the Origins to the Tang Dynasty, Vercelli, 2000, p. 203.

來源

Walter Hochstadter（1914至2007年），紐約及阿德萊德，1950年代購於上海

紐約佳士得2009年3月19日，編號528

埃斯卡納齊，倫敦

展覽

埃斯卡納齊，烏克蘭學院，紐約，2011年

《中國早期金銀器．明清藝術品》，埃斯卡納齊，紐約，2011年，編號7

《唐：陶器、金屬器和雕塑》，埃斯卡納齊，紐約，2021年，編號29

出版

埃斯卡納齊，薛好佩整理，《中國藝術品經眼錄：埃斯卡納齊的回憶》，倫敦，2012年，中譯版，上海，2015年，2017年再版，圖439

此蓋盒工藝精湛，小巧雅緻，紐作松鼠之姿，神態靈動，似在奉獻葡萄，此等題材於同時代器物中極為罕見。盒身精鑄八瓣瓜棱式，各面均以錘揲工藝精製，飾以葡萄纏枝紋，枝葉繁茂，果實纍纍，其間點綴寫實禽鳥，栩栩如生。

葡萄藤紋飾雖具異域風情，然於唐代金銀器及銅鏡紋飾中並不罕見，惟多與瑞獅並置，但如蓋盒以松鼠為紐則非常少見。葡萄紋飾由大唐盛世傳入的異域圖騰逐漸演變為後世寓意深遠之吉祥瑞紋，在中國藝術史中源遠流長。

儘管葡萄與葡萄酒或早於漢代已傳入中土，然至唐代始廣為流行，尤受王公貴族青睞。隨着唐朝沿絲綢之路向西擴張，從而促進中亞文化交流，葡萄、葡萄乾及葡萄酒等貢品得以直接進獻唐室。除卻唐代之異域情調，「松鼠葡萄」紋於後世大放異彩，成為寓意多子多福、豐收富足及家族繁衍之經典吉祥紋飾。

參考一相類作例，售於倫敦蘇富比1973年11月27日，編號30，錄於康蕊君（Regina Krahl），《玫茵堂中國陶瓷》（Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection），卷1，倫敦，1994年，頁105，圖25；另見一尺寸稍小之相關作例，飾蟾蜍紐，現藏於華盛頓史密森尼學會弗利爾美術館，館藏編號F1930.39a-b（圖1）。

另可參考兩件無紐之極似作例：其一於1986年6月10日售於倫敦蘇富比，編號33；另一例載於 Maurizio Scarpari，《Ancient China: Chinese Civilization from the Origins to the Tang Dynasty》，韋爾切利（Vercelli），2000年，頁203。