A fine pair of doucai 'chrysanthemum' jars and covers, Seal marks and period of Qianlong | 清乾隆 鬪彩番蓮團菊紋蓋罐一對 《大清乾隆年製》款

Acquired in Hong Kong, late 1980s.

1980年代末在香港購入

This type of doucai 'lotus and chrysanthemum' jars is believed to be modelled after Chenghua prototypes. No exact Chenghua original, however, appears to be recorded, but the design is well-known from Chenghua wares of various shapes; see a doucai cup with double-chrysanthemum medallions and lotus scrolls excavated from the waste heaps of the Ming imperial kilns at Jingdezhen included in Imperial Porcelains from the Reign of Chenghua in the Ming Dynasty: A Comparison of Porcelains from the Imperial Kiln Site at Jingdezhen and Imperial Collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing, 2016, vol. II, pl. 179, together with an excavated doucai bowl with roundels of four chrysanthemums, pl. 155. Compare also a Chenghua jar and cover with a related design in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in ibid., vol. I, pl. 140.

In the 13th year of the Qianlong reign (1748), according to Qinggong neiwufu zaobanchu dang'an zonghui [General collection of archival records from the Qing imperial household department workshop], the Emperor ordered Tang Ying (1682-1756), the famous superintendent at the imperial kilns in Jingdezhen, to produce more than 20 fitting covers for a group of Ming dynasty jars and flower vessels, including "a wucai jar decorated with chrysanthemums from the Chenghua kiln". These Ming dynasty porcelain vessels must have been among the most treasured objects in the court collection, as the Emperor only permitted copies, instead of the originals, to be sent to Jiangxi.

A pair of similar Qianlong doucai jars and covers is illustrated in Tianjin shi yishu bowuguan cang ci /Porcelains from the Tianjin Municipal Museum, Hong Kong, 1993, pl. 177; another pair is published in Min Shin no bijutsu [Ming and Qing Art], Tokyo, 1982, pl. 170; and a single jar and cover in the Palace Museum, Taipei, is included in Catalogue of Ch'ing Dynasty Porcelain, vol. 2, Tokyo, 1981, pl. 24, and again in Empty Vessels, Replenished Minds: The Culture, Practice, and Art of Tea, Taipei, 2002, cat. no. 157. A pair of jars and covers was sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 27th November 2013, lot 3209; a single jar and cover was sold in these rooms, 7th April 2015, lot 3713; and another was sold at Christie's London, 15th May 2018, lot 192.

In the exhibition catalogue Empty Vessels, Replenished Minds, Liao Pao-Show suggests that this type of covered jars was used as tea caddies in the Qing dynasty, as similar vessels are painted together with other tea-related utensils in court paintings from the Qianlong period (op.cit., p. 179). See, for examples, three imperial paintings in the collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Paintings by the Court Artists of the Qing Court, Hong Kong, 1996, pls 30-31 and 73.

此類蓮菊紋罐，其團菊紋與成化瓷器上所飾接近，然傳世成化器中，並未發現式樣相同之品。景德鎮珠山御窰遺址出土鬪彩團菊紋殘盃，同是兩菊為一組，隙地綴以折枝蓮，與此品類，圖見《明代成化御窰瓷器：景德鎮御窰遺址出土與故宮博物院藏傳世瓷器對比（下）》，北京，2016年，圖版179，同書另載一鬪彩團菊紋盌，卻是四菊一組，見圖版155。另參考北京故宮藏成化鬪彩菊蝶紋蓋罐，載於《明代成化御窰瓷器（上）》，出處同上，圖版140。

據《清宮內務府造辦處檔案總匯》，乾隆十三年（1748年）高宗下旨命景德鎮督陶官唐英（1682-1756年）為清宮藏明代瓷罐及花囊二十餘件配蓋，當中更有「成窰五彩菊罐一件」，高宗傳旨「著交唐英各照樣配蓋一件」，然不許原件往送江西，只准繪製樣本讓唐英參考，可見聖上對宮藏明瓷的珍視。

天津市藝術博物館藏一與此品相類之清乾隆鬪彩蓋罐，見《天津市藝術博物館藏瓷》，香港，1993年，圖版177。《明清の美術》也載一對，東京，1982年，圖版170。台北故宮博物院還有一蓋罐，錄於《故宮清瓷圖錄─乾隆窰．嘉慶窰．道光窰》，東京，1981年，圖版24，又見於《也可以清心－茶器．茶事．茶畫》，台北，2002年，編號157。2013年11月27日香港佳士得曾拍出一對相類蓋罐，編號3209。香港蘇富比也曾售出多例，如2015年4月7日編號3713之蓋罐。倫敦佳士得且有一例，2018年5月15日，編號192。

在《也可以清心》圖錄中，廖寶秀提出乾隆年間宮廷繪畫作品上，偶見相類蓋罐與其他茶器同置一處，推論應為儲存茶葉之皿（頁179）。北京故宮博物院藏《乾隆歲朝圖》及兩軸《乾隆雪景行樂圖》上，正有相近之罐，圖見《故宮博物院藏文物珍品全集．清代宮廷繪畫》，香港，1996年，圖版30-31及73。