This flask represents one of the archetypal wares created at the imperial kilns in Jingdezhen during the early Ming dynasty, a design that appears to have been equally popular with the Chinese rulers as with foreign royalty. It belongs to a group of vessels which derived their inspiration from Persian prototypes and represented a new stylistic avenue for Chinese porcelain. The angular bulb and short oval foot are characteristic of Yongle flasks of this large size. Closely related examples include one in the collects ion of the Ottoman sultans in Turkey, illustrated in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics in the Topkapi Saray Museum, Istanbul, London, 1986, vol. 2, pl. 616; one from the Qing court collects ion, preserved in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, and included in the Museum’s exhibition Pleasingly Pure and Lustrous. Porcelains from the Yongle Reign (1403-1424) of the Ming Dynasty, 2017, pp. 140-141 (fig. 1); one from the Shanghai Museum, Shanghai, included in the exhibition Seika jiki ten [Exhibition of blue and white porcelain], Matsuya Ginza, Tokyo, 1988, cat. no. 16; and another, from the Jingguantang and Huang Ding Xuan collects ions, included in the exhibition In Pursuit of Antiquities. Thirty-Fifth Anniversary Exhibition of the Min Chiu Society, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1995, cat. no. 124, sold in these rooms, 29th October 1991, lot 29, and twice at Christie's Hong Kong, 3rd November 1996, lot 545, and again, 28th November 2006, lot 1512. Another example was sold in our Paris rooms, 18th December 2009, lot 65.

The same design is also found adorning one side of flasks of similar form, but of slightly smaller size and with larger rounded bulbs, the other side decorated with a related design of interlaced petals and ruyi motifs; for example see one exhibited in the Shihua Art Museum, Shanghai, 2010, and published in Zhao Yueting, ed., Huangdi de ciqi. Jingdezhen chutu 'Ming san dai' guanyao ciqi zhenpin huicui [Porcelains of the emperors. Compilation of imperial porcelain treasures of 'The Three Ming Reigns' excavated at Jingdezhen], Shanghai, 2010, pl. 23, together with a plain white flask without a foot attributed to the early Yongle period, pl. 19, and a blue-and-white Xuande-marked example with a rectangular foot, pl. 68. See also a Xuande mark and period flask from the Qing court collects ion in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, exhibited in Pleasingly Pure and Lustrous, op.cit., pp. 142-143 (fig. 2), together with two white-glazed examples of this form, one undecorated and the other incised with interlaced petals, pp. 136-139. The subtle evolution of the form and design over the decades can be traced in these flasks.

The design and shape of this flask appear to have derived from Near or Middle Eastern pottery or metal prototypes, although no exact counterpart has yet been found. Its possible origin is discussed in Margaret.mes dley, 'Islam and Chinese Porcelain in the 14th and Early 15th Centuries', Bulletin of the Oriental Ceramic Society of Hong Kong, no. 6, 1982-4, where a Xuande-marked flask in the Sir David Percival collects ion is illustrated, fig. 11; and in John Alexander Pope, 'An Early Ming Porcelain in Muslim Style', Aus der Welt der Islamischen Kunst. Festschrift für Ernst Kuhnel, Berlin, 1959, where another blue-and-white flask is published, pl. 3B, together with a large inlaid brass canteen with similar strap handles and 'garlic' mouth, pl. 1B, the latter from the Eumorfopoulos collects ion, sold in our London rooms, 5th June 1940, lot 72, and now in the Freer Gallery of Art, Washington D.C., no. F1941.10 (fig. 3).

The star-shaped rosettes adorning either side of the flask are composed in a highly stylised and geometric manner. Both its formality and abstraction are unusual in a Chinese context and, together with the enclosing chevron and geometric border, are probably also the result of Middle Eastern inspiration. However, the traditional Chinese design repertoire is represented through the flower-scroll band at the neck and the small floral sprigs at the handles, although the combination of asters and carnations is rare. The delicacy of the floral elements also serves to soften the rigidity of the overall design. Flasks of this model were popular during and peculiar to the Yongle and Xuande periods.

本器屬明初景德鎮御窰經典造型之一，極受中外皇室青睞。形制別於往昔中國瓷作，創思靈感源於波斯，開闢蹊徑。其瓶腹渾圓，邊廓規整，橢圓淺足，為永樂大扁瓶之典型特徵。相若作例，見於土耳其奧斯曼蘇丹珍藏，載於康蕊君，《Chinese Ceramics in the Topkapi Saray Museum, Istanbul》，倫敦，1986年，卷2，圖版616。另見上海博物館藏例，錄於《青花磁器展》，松屋銀座，東京，1988年，編號16。台北故宮也有清宮舊藏例，收錄在展覽《適於心—明代永樂皇帝的瓷器》，台北，2017年，頁140-141（圖一）。亦有一例，曾屬靜觀堂及黃鼎軒雅藏，錄於《好古敏求：敏求精舍三十五週年紀念展》，香港藝術館，香港，1995年，編號124，售於香港蘇富比1991年10月29日，編號29，後兩次售於香港佳士得1996年11月3日，編號545，以及2006年11月28日，編號1512。相近扁瓶還有一例，售於巴黎蘇富比2009年12月18日，編號65。

近似形制扁瓶，尺寸略小，但蒜頭口及瓶腹更大，一面紋飾同於本器，另一面裝飾相類交鎖花瓣及如意紋，例如上海世華藝術館藏例，刊於趙月汀編，《皇帝的瓷器．景德鎮出土明三代官窰瓷器珍品薈萃》，上海，2010年，圖版23，同書收錄一件永樂早期白釉扁瓶，素紋，無圈足，見圖版19，以及一件宣德年款青花例，長方形圈足，見圖版68。台北故宮博物院也有一清宮舊藏例，書宣德六字橫款，曾展於《適於心》，前述出處，頁142-143（圖二），同書並錄永樂白釉扁瓶兩件，素飾及劃花各一，頁136-139。明初扁瓶形制紋樣之微妙演變，觀諸作，可窺一斑。

本器造型紋飾應源於中近東陶器或金屬器原型，然迄今未現完全一致之範例。有關其來源之探究，可參考 Margaret.mes dley，〈Islam and Chinese Porcelain in the 14th and Early 15th Centuries〉，《香港東方陶瓷學會會刊》，第6期，1982-4年，其中列舉一件英國大維德基金會藏宣德款扁瓶，見圖11。John Alexander Pope 在〈An Early Ming Porcelain in Muslim Style〉文中，刊錄另一件青花扁瓶例，《Aus der Welt der Islamischen Kunst. Festschrift für Ernst Kuhnel》，柏林，1959年，圖版3B，並載一件嵌飾銅壺，作相若綬帶狀雙耳及蒜頭口，見圖版1B，後者為尤莫弗普勒斯典藏，售於倫敦蘇富比1940年6月5日，編號72，現藏華盛頓弗利爾美術館，編號F1941.10（圖三）。

瓶腹兩面所繪輪花紋，採幾何構圖，其形式化及抽象性於中國之圖像意義中較為罕見，瓶腹沿廓所見三角形及幾何圖案邊飾，皆富中東色彩。然瓶頸纏枝花卉及雙耳根部折枝花紋，則突顯傳統中國樣式風範。儘管翠菊與康乃馨圖案相配實屬罕見，但雅緻新奇的花卉元素更巧妙地為原本拘謹的圖案增添幾分柔美。此扁瓶器形，流行於永宣時期，為二朝獨有。

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Important Chinese Art