A Junyao 'human figure' 'puzzle' cup, Jin - Yuan dynasty | 金至元 鈞窰月白釉公道盃

Qin Dashu, Junyao Ceramics from the Beixuan Shuzhai Collection, Hong Kong, 2017, pl. 8.

秦大樹，《柏煊書齋．鈞窰》，香港，2017年，圖版8

Cups of this type are often referred to as 'puzzle' cups for their ingenious and playful construction. These cups were modelled with a domed structure with openings that allowed water to flow through. When the cup was filled a small figure would appear, amusing its user.

A Junyao 'puzzle cup', from the Sir Percival David Collection, now in the British Museum, London, was included in Illustrated Catalogue of Ru, Guan, Jun, Guangdong and Yixing Wares, London, 1999, pl. 47; and another, excavated from Ningcheng, Chifeng, in Inner Mongolia, dated to the Yuan dynasty, is published in The Complete Works of Chinese Ceramics, Shanghai, 2000, pl. 215. See also a white-glazed 'puzzle' cup attributed to the Song dynasty, published in Regina Krahl, Yuegutang. Eine Berliner Sammlung chinesischer Keramik, Berlin, 2000, pl. 216; and an example from the collection of Robert Hatfield Ellsworth, sold in these rooms, 5th April 2017, lot 3217.

此類公道盃，盃內見拱形結構，並有孔隙供水流入，盃中注水，孔內小人便隨之浮現，精巧奇趣。可比較一鈞窰類例，大維德爵士舊藏，現藏於倫敦大英博物館，曾錄於《Ru, Guan, Jun, Guangdong and Yixing Wares》，倫敦，1999年，圖版47。另見一元代作例，出土於蒙古赤峰市寧城縣，錄於《中國陶瓷全集》，上海，2000年，圖版215。此外，康蕊君編，《悅古堂：柏林藏中國陶瓷》中亦錄有一宋代白釉例，柏林，2000年，圖版216。另可參考安思遠舊藏例，售於香港蘇富比2017年4月5日，編號3217。