An outstanding heirloom Longquan celadon 'lotus' bowl, Southern Song dynasty | 南宋 龍泉青釉蓮瓣盌

A Japanese collection, Kanazawa, acquired before the 1950s.

日本收藏，金沢，購藏於1950年代之前

With its elegant form and unctuous glaze, the present bowl is a fine example of the high-Song taste for pure colour and understated refinement. The translucency of the celadon glaze, thinning and pooling over the graceful petals on the exterior, accentuates the superb silhouette of the bowl.

Towards the end of the 12th century, the traditional lime glaze was replaced by a lime-alkali glaze, creating a higher viscosity and softer gloss. Multiple layers of glaze were often applied to capture a jade-like effect, a technique that was probably adopted from the Guan wares of the period. The glaze of the present bowl is a rich lustrous bluish green, often referred to as the kinuta glaze by the Japanese who were especially fond of these wares which were considered masterpieces of the Longquan potter. Thanks to the scrupulous care of its custodians who cherished it from generation to generation, the glaze is extremely well preserved, emitting a brilliance that is both appealing to the eye and inviting to the touch.

Although Longquan lotus bowls exist in huge quantities, the majority are larger with more rounded sides, and dainty examples of pronounced proportions with the striking quality of the present bowl are exceedingly rare. A closely related bowl (d. 14.6 cm) is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, accession no. 50.221.18; and a slightly smaller example (d. 12.1 cm) was sold in our London rooms, 14th December 1982, lot 152.

Several lotus bowls of this type of various sizes are illustrated in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, vol. 1, London, 1994, nos 539-544, where the author notes that the finest Longquan wares were produced in the Southern Song period and that while this type of bowl was produced in large qualities during the Song and Yuan dynasties, the earlier bowls are distinguished by their clarity of glaze and finely carved petals (see p. 290). In terms of proportions and the quality of the glaze, the present bowl is perhaps the closest to one of the earliest examples (no. 540), but compared to the prototype, the petals are less carefully executed.  

龍泉窰蓮瓣盌，器形優雅，釉光潤澤，純色內斂而雋永，展現宋代審美之至高品味。青釉瑩透似水，流淌於蓮瓣紋薄釉與積釉處，濃淡分明，柔美妙絕。

十二世紀末，瓷匠調整釉藥配方，加強石灰鹼值，以增青釉光潤感，施釉多反覆澆淋，增加厚度，更顯腴美如玉，如此技術改良或借自南宋官窰燒造。 本品釉翠泛青，光耀迷人，此類青瓷深得日人推崇，稱「砧」，視為龍泉窰最經典之作。此件蓮瓣紋盌，得歷代藏家悉心珍藏，釉面保存極佳，令人愛不釋手。

存世龍泉窰蓮瓣盌數量不少，但多見尺寸較大，器腹深圓，如本品巧緻精美者極少。參考紐約大都會藝術博物館藏一盌，直徑14.6公分，藏品編號50.221.18；倫敦蘇富比售出一例，尺寸較小，直徑12.1公分，1982年12月14日，編號152。

參考數件蓮紋盌，尺寸相異，刊載於康蕊君，《玫茵堂中國陶瓷》，卷1，倫敦，1994年，編號539-544，並述及南宋龍泉青瓷品質最高，此類蓮瓣式盌雖宋元皆造，早期作例釉色清澈，紋飾俐落（頁290）。觀其造形比例與釉色，本品近類年代較早作例，編號540，但蓮瓣紋飾更颯爽不拘。