A blue and white 'floral' Yuhuchunping, Mark and period of Jiajing | 明嘉靖 青花纏枝花卉紋玉壺春瓶 《嘉靖年製》款

Marked by economic prosperity and luxury at court, Ming porcelain production reached its zenith under the reign of the Jiajing Emperor. Following successive threats on his life, political turmoil and an embrace of Daoist beliefs, the Emperor spent much of his reign retired in the secluded palaces of the West Park (Xiyuan) which he had lavishly decorated with porcelain. In order to fulfill this significantly increased demand for imperial wares, private kilns at Jingdzhen were employed alongside the imperial kilns, which in turn, forced the Imperial Household Department (Neiwufu) to embrace a broader spectrum of techniques and styles. This outsourcing and creative freedom ushered in an unprecedented new wave of imperial wares, produced in conversation with – but not limited to – the prescribed designs of the court. 

This new-found creative freedom is epitomized by the present vase. While the yuhuchun form and peony design of the present vase find their origins in the early fifteenth century, the piece glows with a sense of Jiajing innovation. From its unorthodox rendering of the floral band that frames the peony scroll, to the pointed lappet band at its neck and bright painterly blue tone, the present vase makes a firm departure from the designs of the early Ming and represents a turning point in the history of Chinese porcelain, with artistry and creativity at its centre. For the early Ming prototype of this form and design, see a vase attributed to the Yongle reign, in the British Museum, London, illustrated in Jessica Harrison-Hall, Ming Ceramics in the British Museum, London, 2001, pl. 3:17.

Similar Jiajing vases of this design are held in important museums and private collections across the world. Compare a closely related example preserved in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures in the Palace Museum. Blue and White Porcelain with Underglaze Red (II), Hong Kong, 2000, pl. 83; another in the Shanghai Museum, Shanghai, published in Lu Minghua, Mingdai guanyao ciqi [Imperial porcelain of the Ming dynasty], Shanghai, 2007, pl. 1-51; and a third in the Museum of Oriental Ceramics, Osaka, included in the museum’s exhibition Blue and White in the East Asia, Osaka, 1997, cat. no. 15. See also an example in the Huaihaitang Collection, exhibited in Imperial Porcelain of the Mid to Late Ming, Art Museum, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 2012, cat. no. 35; another in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, London, 2010, vol. 4, pt. 1, pl. 1693; and another from the collection of Dr. Emil Hultmark (1872-1943), illustrated in Leopold Reidemeister, Ming-Porzellane in Schwedischen Sammlungen, Berlin, 1935, pl. 19a.

明代中期在經濟繁榮與宮廷奢華的背景下，瓷器製作達至巔峰，尤以嘉靖皇帝在位時期為代表。由於接連遭遇暗殺威脅、政局動盪，以及其對道教信仰的投入，嘉靖帝多數時間隱居於西苑宮廷，並於此大量陳設瓷器以供觀賞。為滿足其對御用瓷日益高漲的需求，景德鎮除設有御窯廠外，亦動員眾多民窯一同生產，此舉迫使內務府採納更多元的工藝技術與裝飾風格。此類官民合作的燒製模式與寬鬆的創作空間，促成嘉靖時期御瓷前所未有的多樣性與創新風格，突破了以往嚴格遵循宮廷圖樣之限制，成就全新面貌。

本器即充分體現此一創造自由的時代精神。雖瓶形為玉壺春式，主紋為牡丹，皆可溯源至十五世紀早期，惟本器於表現手法上明顯展現嘉靖時期的創新意趣：從不拘常規的花卉邊飾排列、頸部尖狀蕉葉紋之運用、到筆觸靈動、發色鮮明的青花調性，皆與早期明代風格迥異，標誌著中國瓷藝從工藝模仿轉向藝術創造的歷史轉折點。關於此類造型與紋飾之明初前例，可參見一件倫敦大英博物館藏之永樂朝青花瓶，著錄於 Jessica Harrison-Hall，《Ming Ceramics in the British Museum》，倫敦，2001年，圖版3:17。

與本器相近之嘉靖例，現藏於多處重要博物館及私人收藏。可參見北京故宮博物院藏一例，載於《故宮博物院藏文物珍品全集．青花釉裏紅（下）》，香港，2000年，圖版83；另見上海博物館藏一例，著錄於陸明華《明代官窯瓷器》，上海，2007年，圖版1-51；以及大阪東洋陶瓷美術館藏一例，曾展於該館1997年「東亞之青花」展覽，編號15。另見懷海堂舊藏一例，展於香港中文大學文物館2012年「明中晚期官窯瓷器」展覽，展品編號35；玫茵堂藏品之一例，著錄於康蕊君，《玫茵堂中國陶瓷》，倫敦，2010年，卷4，冊1，圖版1693；以及 Emil Hultmark 博士（1872–1943）舊藏一例，著錄於 Leopold Reidemeister，《Ming-Porzellane in Schwedischen Sammlungen》，柏林，1935年，圖版19a。