Footnotes

清乾隆 仿雕漆釉錦地三足爐 描金「大清乾隆年製」篆書款

A great lover of the arts, the Qianlong emperor's reign saw an application of creative ingenuity combined with high technical capabilities in porcelain production to playfully recreate objects of other media, like hardstones, bronze, cloisonné enamel, wood and lacquer, as exemplified by this lot. These 'simulated' wares reflect the emperor's penchant for interesting, innovative and luxurious pieces, and the playful pleasure in admiring these unusual artefacts.

Other examples of Qianlong period porcelain imitating cinnabar lacquer are found in museum collections, including a bowl with a similar floral diaper ground from the Qing Court Collection in the Palace Museum Beijing, illustrated in China's Jingdezhen Porcelain Through the Ages, Qing Dynasty, Beijing, 1998, no.242. Compare also with a bowl and cover in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated in Empty Vessels, Replenished Minds: The Culture, Practice, and Art of Tea, Taipei, 2000, p.161, no.139. Another bowl simulating cinnabar lacquer, with a shou medallion on a lozenge diaper ground and a key-fret band below the mouth rim, Qianlong, is in the Nanjing Museum, illustrated in The Official Kiln Porcelain of the Chinese Qing Dynasty, Nanjing, 2003, no.308. See also a porcelain model simulating a cinnabar lacquer sundial, also with diaper grounds on the exterior, Qianlong mark and period, illustrated by J.Ayers, Chinese Ceramics in the Baur Collection, vol.2, Geneva, 1999, p.142, no.250; and see a simulated cinnabar lacquer lobed tray, Qianlong, illustrated by Geng Baocheng, Ming Qing ciqi jianding, Beijing, 1993, p.285, fig.492.

The present lot closely imitates imperial cinnabar lacquer incense burners, Qianlong seal mark and of the period, such as the one from the Qing Court Collection, illustrated as part of a garniture in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Lacquer Wares of the Qing Dynasty, Shanghai, 2006, no.25; and the one illustrated by Lin Manli, Carving the Subtle Radiance of Colors: Treasured Lacquerware in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1997, pl.147.

乾隆時期正是清代社會發展的頂峰時期，製瓷業也因此步向了創造性的階段，再加上乾隆帝愛好藝術，刺激了製瓷藝術的創新，從而出現了一些新穎、奇巧、造型千姿百態的革新品種，本器便是一例，其造型端莊規整，製作精緻，在素器上先雕出錦地，再施釉燒成，器型和釉色十分逼真，絕對是一件令人愛不釋手的珍品。

傳世品中的仿雕漆作品並不多見，故宮博物院清宮舊藏一件清乾隆仿紅雕漆碗，見《中國歷代景德鎮瓷器》，北京，1998年，編號242；國立故宮博物院也藏一件乾隆仿雕漆紅釉銀裡蓋碗，見《也可以清心：茶器·茶事·茶畫》，台北，2000年，頁161，編號139。再參考南京博物院藏一件乾隆仿雕漆紅釉萬壽紋碗，著錄於《中國清代官窯瓷器》，南京，2003年，編號308。更多例子請參見J.Ayers著，《Chinese Ceramics in the Baur Collection，vol.2》，日內瓦，1999年，頁142，編號250；和耿寶昌著《明清瓷器鑑定》，北京，1993年，頁285，圖492。

此爐模仿的剔紅香爐，可參考清宮舊藏一件清乾隆漆器例子，見《故宮博物院藏文物珍品全集：清代漆器》，上海，2006年，編號25；也見《和光剔采:故宮藏漆》，台北，1997年，圖版147。