Footnotes

• 清乾隆 粉彩八仙獻壽圖瓷板掛屏
  
  The 'Five Gods of Wufang' (Wulaojun) are the five-fold manifestation of the Supreme God of Heaven in Chinese mythology. They are considered to be the physical manifestation of the Daoist creator and theological concept, Tian, 'heaven'. Each of the Five Gods are represented by a particular colour: Huangdi as the Yellow Deity, Cangdi as the Blue-green Deity, Heidi as the Black Deity, Chidi as the Red Deity, and Baidi as the White Deity. The concept of the Five Gods was important in early Chinese culture and philosophy, concerning ideas about the night sky and beliefs about the afterlife. They represented the five sacred Chinese mountains, the five most important planets in the solar system, the five directions of space, and the five major constellations that rotate around the North Star. The description of the 'Five Gods of Wufang' admiring a scroll with a Taiji trigram (symbolising the centre of the universe) became a popular theme in Song dynasty literature and later in decorative arts.
  
  The Three Star Gods, Fu, Lu and Shou are the gods of the three constellations and the embodiment of Wealth (Fu), Prosperity (Lu), and Longevity (Shou). As exemplified by the present lot, the God of Wealth is shown in the red robe of a state official with a ruyi sceptre in his hands; the God of Prosperity is shown in the robe of a ministerial vice director holding a boy in his arms; and the God of Longevity as an old man standing next to a deer, holding a peach branch.
  
  See a closely-related famille rose 'Eight Immortals' plaque, Qianlong, with similar meticulous execution of the details, which was sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 29 November 2018, lot 424.
  
  掛屏長方形，分別以綠地軋道紋為邊框，在中央開窗以粉彩繪「福祿壽三星圖」以及「五老太極圖」，其中「福祿壽三星圖」，繪福星身著紅袍官府，手持如意，頭戴金冠，坐於藤椅，身旁小童嬉戲，旁邊祿星懷抱一小童，和顏悅色，坐於石台，石台後圍一圈香妃竹柵欄，遠處壽星拄杖而立，身著黃色長衫，迎面兩童子一手捧桃、一牽驢。繪五雲氣繚繞，另一瓷板繪五老帝君相聚於山陰仙台，同觀長卷，卷上繪陰陽太極圖。山間蒼松鬱鬱，雲氣繚繞，瀑布直瀉，溪水潺潺，所繪人物神情瀟灑，面部細節表現細膩，極具仙風道骨，顯示乾隆時期高超的粉彩繪畫技巧。
  
  清代粉彩瓷板中，以山水人物為題材的繪畫是中國瓷器繪畫藝術與洋彩繪畫成功深入融合的結果。在清代康熙以前，於瓷器繪畫的技藝及顏料有限，以油性彩料於瓷胎繪畫的技法僅有限的借鑒和融入中國傳統繪畫的部分，至乾隆時期發展成熟。清代瓷板，一般採用瓷泥滾壓、切割的成形工藝，再平放入匣缽燒煉，因此瓷板越大，成品率越低，燒成後極易變形或坼裂，釉面比較容易伴有氣泡、落渣等缺陷，此對瓷板成對燒製，尺寸相當，實為不易。
  
  福祿壽三位星君又稱「財子壽」，象徵財務、功名及長壽。福星為中國古代官員造型，峨冠博帶是重要特徵；祿星主管官祿及送子，手抱孩兒；壽星代表高壽，一手持杖，一手持壽桃。五老可能源於「五方上帝」或「五老帝君」，最早指東方青帝太昊伏羲氏，南方炎帝神農氏，中央黃帝軒轅氏，西方白帝少昊，北方黑帝顓頊。
  
  參看一件清乾隆粉彩八仙獻壽圖瓷板掛屏，其構圖及用彩於本對瓷板類似，出售於香港蘇富比，2018年11月29日，拍品編號424。