O f majestic proportions and luminous palette, this exceptional tianqiuping epitomises the artistic and ideological ambitions of the Qianlong Emperor (r. 1736–1795). Ruling at the height of the Qing dynasty over the largest and most wealthy nation in the world, the Qianlong Emperor and his reign are characterised by an atmosphere of power, majesty and prosperity. These ideals, embodied by the Emperor himself, were similarly embraced by the artisans of the imperial kilns of Jingdezhen who produced some of the most sumptuous and refined designs ever attested in the Chinese tradition. Of bold curvaceous form gathering to a slender finely worked neck, the tianqiuping, or ‘celestial sphere vase,’ exemplifies this imperial aesthetic. Its grand spherical form suggesting the wholeness of the cosmos, the tianqiuping has long been celebrated as a grand and unrivalled symbol of imperial power, of boundless order and perfection under the auspicious reign of Qianlong himself.

However, while most tianqiuping feature designs solely associated with imperial power, from swirling five-clawed dragons to vibrant imperial monochromes, the present vase speaks to the more profound and devout nature of the Qianlong Emperor: that of the Buddhist King — the chakravartin who ‘turned the Wheel of Dharma.’ Encircling this symbolic globe, the Eight Buddhist Emblems (bajixiang) are rendered in exquisitely balanced doucai enamels. Comprised of a conch shell, endless knot, pair of fish, lotus flower, parasol, dharma wheel, treasure vase, and victory banner, each Auspicious Emblem carries a range of specific meanings while together they evoke the universal blessings of the Buddha and the triumph of spiritual enlightenment. Ruler of the largest Buddhist empire in the world and a personal devotee, the Qianlong Emperor embraced these symbols with open arms and commissioned countless works inspired by the lessons of Buddhism and its symbols. Thus, such designs were not.mes re decoration; they were visual proclamations of faith, sovereignty, and cosmic legitimacy.

If the form and iconography proclaim imperial grandeur and spiritual devotion, the technique of doucai expresses the technical mastery that defined Qianlong’s porcelain production. The doucai (‘contrasting colours’) palette, in which fine underglaze cobalt outlines are filled with overglaze enamels in brilliant jewel-like brilliant tones, was first perfected during the Chenghua reign (1465–1487) of the Ming dynasty. Its delicate balance of drawing and colour became synonymous with refinement and was revived and reinterpreted in the ensuing centuries and particularly under the reign of Qianlong’s father, the Yongzheng Emperor (r. 1723–1735). The Yongzheng reign also saw the first known examples combining doucai enamels with the tianqiuping form and indeed with the Buddhist Emblems. More subdued in colour and busier in design, this small group of Yongzheng tianiquiping – of which only two examples appear to survive – almost certainly stood as inspiration for the present example and are decorated primarily with floral roundels and crashing waves, with the bajixiang adorning the top of the neck. Compare the more famous of the surviving pair from the Jingguantang collects ion of T. T. Tsui, widely published and sold most recently in these rooms, 8th April 2007, lot 767 (fig. 1).

While preserving the gentle colours, extraordinary proportions and grandeur of the Yongzheng prototype, the present tianqiuping is unmistakably of the Qianlong period in its extraordinary sense of proportions and opulence and its centring of Buddhist iconography. Although all doucai vessels to date appear to have been commissioned in larger series, no other tianqiuping of this extraordinary size and design appears to survive. A small number of closely related doucai bajixiang designs are attested on other pieces designed for Buddhist contexts in the Qianlong court, most notably a group of garniture wares almost certainly produced in the same context as the present vase, though none are truly comparable in their size or quality. Compare one such complete five-piece garniture of Qianlong marks and period presented to Sir Thomas Hohler by Lord Kitchener, sold in our London rooms, 11th May 2011, lot 230 (fig. 2); a ewer of Tibetan penbahu form and closely related design, sold in these rooms 2nd May 2000, lot 677; and a large charger from the imperial collects ion in the Nanjing Museum, included in Qing Imperial Porcelain of the Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong Reigns, Nanjing, 1995, cat. no. 104.

Thrown to such stately proportions, fired once with underglaze blue and then again, possibly several t.mes s, with the finest control of enamels including those of the newly discovered famille rose palette, the present tianqiuping is a triumph almost unrivalled in its quality and size. Indeed, only one doucai vase in the imperial collects ion of the Palace Museum, Beijing, appears to have ever been published of larger size than the present, illustrated in The Complete collects ion of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Porcelains in Polychrome and Contrasting Colours, Hong Kong, 1999, pl. 251, depicting a scene of tribute bearers. For the only other Qianlong tianqiuping of this size and doucai decoration apparently ever to come to market, compare the closely related Daoist counterpart to the present design decorated in much the same manner with the Eight Daoist Emblems (anbaxian), given to the Philbrook Museum of Art, Tulsa, by the family of George Hathaway Taber Jr. (1859-1940) and sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 30th May 2018, lot 8888.

Standing at the culmination of three centuries of imperial experimentation, marrying technical perfection with the rich iconography of Buddhist statecraft, the present tianqiuping is an extraordinary relic from the height of the Qing and a powerful expression of the three true objects of the Qianlong Emperor’s devotion— the Buddha, the Nation and beauty itself.

此 天球瓶體量雄偉，釉色瑩潤，完美詮釋了乾隆皇帝的藝術追求與治國理想。乾隆王朝適逢清帝國鼎盛時期，統禦疆域遼闊、國力富冠全球的盛世圖景，其治世以威儀顯赫、國力雄渾、物阜民豐著稱。這種由帝王親身踐行的理想，同樣深刻影響著景德鎮御窰匠人的創作，他們燒造出中國陶瓷史上最為瑰麗精緻的器物。此天球瓶造型雄奇，腹部豐碩圓潤，頸項纖巧挺拔，淋漓盡致地展現皇家美學典範。其宏偉球體暗合宇宙渾圓之境，長久以來被尊為皇權至高無上的象徵，昭示著乾隆祥瑞統治下疆土無垠、秩序井然、完美無瑕的盛世氣象。

然多數天球瓶紋飾僅關乎皇權象徵，或繪五爪蟠龍翻卷，或施單色釉彩，本品卻昭示著乾隆皇帝更為深邃虔誠的精神維度：即作為轉輪聖王的佛教君主身份，喻示「轉動法輪」之至高境界。瓶身環飾八吉祥紋，以鬪彩技法繪就，釉色平衡精妙。海螺、盤長、雙魚、蓮花、寶蓋、法輪、寶瓶、勝利幢等祥瑞符號各具深意，共聚一堂則彰顯佛陀普世加持與證悟解脫之殊勝。統禦全球最大佛教帝國的乾隆皇帝自身即為虔誠信徒，對這些象徵符號推崇備至，敕造無數融匯佛教義理與符號的藝術傑作。故此紋飾絕非單純裝飾，實為信仰、皇權與宇宙法統的視覺宣言。

若說器型與紋飾昭顯帝王威儀與宗教虔誠，則鬪彩工藝本身即代表著乾隆御瓷的技藝巔峰。鬪彩，意為「爭奇鬪豔之彩」技法，首創于明成化年間，其以細膩青花鈷料勾繪輪廓，再施以寶石般明豔的釉上彩料，繪染結合間成就極致雅韻。此種繪色相映之精妙，自十五世紀後漸成典雅之典範，並在後世尤以雍正朝得以復興與重塑。雍正時期更首開先河，將鬪彩技法運用於天球瓶形制，並首次與八吉祥紋結合。現存雍正鬪彩天球瓶僅得兩例，其設色較本品更為清雅，紋飾佈局亦顯繁密，主體以纏枝團花與驚濤浪紋為飾，八吉祥紋則點綴於頸部上方。此二例無疑為本品之靈感淵源，其中著名者乃徐氏靜觀堂舊藏，曾多次著錄並售於香港蘇富比2007年4月8日，編號767（圖1）。

此天球瓶既承襲雍正原型之雅致釉色、恢宏體量及皇家氣度，又通過其對佛教意象的核心詮釋與極致華美的比例掌控，彰顯出鮮明的乾隆時代特徵。雖現存鬪彩器多為成套燒造，然如此非凡尺寸與紋飾設計之天球瓶，迄今未見同類傳世。乾隆宮廷佛教用器中可見少量紋飾相近之鬪彩八吉祥作品，尤以一組與本品當屬同批燒造之五供器最為顯著，然其體量與品質皆無法與本器媲美。可資比較者包括：基欽納勳爵贈湯瑪斯·霍勒爵士之乾隆年製五供整套，售於倫敦蘇富比2011年5月11日，編號230（圖2）；紋飾極近之藏式賁巴壺，售香港蘇富比2000年5月2日，編號677；及南京博物院清宮舊藏鬪彩八吉祥大盤，載於《清瓷萃珍──清代康雍乾官窯瓷器》，南京，1995年，編號104。

此天球瓶以雄渾之姿經拉坯成型，先施青花鈷料初燒，後以極致控彩技藝多次覆燒，其間尤以新創粉彩釉料點綴，終成品質與體量皆堪稱曠世之作。縱覽寰宇，唯北京故宮博物院清宮舊藏一鬪彩獻貢圖天球瓶尺寸略勝本品，載於《故宮博物院藏文物珍品大系．五彩．鬥彩》，香港，1999年，圖版251。市場所見同類乾隆鬪彩天球瓶，僅得一例可資比擬：其紋飾技法與本品極近，唯以道教八寶替代佛教八吉祥，曾由泰貝家族柯禮夫人捐予奧克拉荷馬州塔爾薩的費布克美術館，後售於香港佳士得2018年5月30日，編號8888。

此天球瓶乃三百年御窰工藝之集大成者，融技法之極致與佛教治國意象之豐贍於一器，實為清鼎盛時期之曠世遺珍，亦昭示乾隆皇帝三大虔敬信仰，佛陀、社稷與至美本身的至高藝術表達。