A very rare pair of Imperial carved three-colour lacquer vases


Qianlong Each of quatrefoil section, the lobed body rising from a splayed foot and surmounted by a long flaring neck, each lobe finely carved through the red and green layers against the yellow-ochre ground with a scene of immortals accompanied by young attendants carrying auspicious objects including lingzhi, peaches, corals, ruyi, peonies, vases and gourds, within panels surrounded by peony scrolls, the neck bordered with a band of upright archaic plantain leaves above a floral scroll on the shoulders, all between two huiwen bands encircling the lobed mouth rim and foot rim, the interior and base black lacquered. Each 29cm (11 1/2in) high. (2).
|清乾隆 剔彩群仙祝壽圖海棠尊一對Provenance: An English private collection 來源：英國私人收藏Lacquer production reached its peak during the Qianlong period. This was also due to the emperor's intervention by ordering ivory craftsmen from Canton to Beijing in order to revive the technique used in Ming lacquer carvings. The emperor further commissioned the Imperial Workshop in Suzhou to develop new forms and designs. The three-colour layered lacquer carving, ticai, which can be seen on the rare pair of vases, was popular during the late Ming dynasty and revived during the Qianlong reign, see Yang Boda, 'The Study of Qing Dynasty Suzhou Lacquerware based on Imperial Workshop Archives', Wenwu, vol.2, 1982.Compare with a vase of quatrefoil form, but in red lacquer only, Qianlong, illustrated in Masterpieces of Chinese Carved Lacquer Ware in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1971, pl.32; compare also with another red lacquer vase and stand carved with similar scenes, Qianlong, in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, (acc.no.904-1873). A large carved polychrome lacquer vase, Qianlong, was sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 7 April 2015, lot 3735; and another example was sold at Christie's New York, 19 March 2009, lot 592.海棠式，口外撇，束頸，隆肩，深弧腹，高圈足外撇。漆分三層，黃為底，綠居中，朱為面。口沿及足部一周剔回紋，頸部剔仿古蕉葉紋，以綠漆龜背錦地填之，肩部及瓶身表層朱漆雕纏枝番蓮紋，其下露出綠地，滿雕錦地，四面正中開光，其內浮雕群仙祝壽圖，每面人物皆兩高士伴以兩僮，高士頭戴樸巾，寬袍大袖，或策杖，或捧桃，或持如意，僮子手中皆捧以祝壽寶物，有芝草花籃、葫蘆瓶、珊瑚寶瓶、圖書、壽桃之屬，人物動作、表情栩栩如生，充滿張力，以朱文錦地為陸，綠文錦地為水，黃文錦地為雲，層次鮮明，用刀深峻而不失細膩。圈足剔刻黃地朱漆纏枝番蓮紋一周，足緣直壁，雕回紋一匝。清代剔漆不同於元明，後者講究藏鋒清楚，隱起圓滑，而清代剔漆，講究刀鋒凌厲而細膩，工不厭細，畫不厭精，尤以乾隆朝為甚，但是嘉慶之後，即便內府也難尋堪用之雕工，而後剔紅則式微矣。楊伯達分析清內務府檔案推測，清代宮廷雕漆製作始於乾隆三年，最初由造辦處牙雕工匠雕刻漆器，之後發樣至蘇州製作，見楊伯達，〈清代蘇州始末-從造辦處檔案看清代蘇州雕漆〉，《文物》，1982年2期。此雕刻深峻而不顯呆板，工藝規整，細節表達條理清晰，一絲不苟，從剔漆刀紋可見漆層極多，同時剔面層次均勻，刀口流暢，堪為乾嘉鼎盛時期的作品。剔漆海棠尊多見於剔紅而已，可比較台北故宮藏一件清乾隆剔紅海棠尊，見《故宮雕漆器選萃》，台北，1971年，圖版32；英國維多利亞及艾伯特博物館藏一件清乾隆剔紅海棠尊亦資參考，所雕圖案頗似，且帶還剔紅原座，館藏編號904-1873。剔彩的例子可參考一件乾隆剔彩海棠尊，2015年4月7日售於香港蘇富比，拍品編號3735；另一相似例子售於佳士得紐約，2009年3月19日，拍品編號592。