Lot 122 A Chinese blue and white 'Poem' bowl, ex-Percival David Collection

A Chinese blue and white 'Poem' bowl, ex-Percival David Collection

Longqing mark and of the period

未知

€ 15.000 – € 25.000

OH: H. 9,5 cm, Diam. 12,1 cm (Incl. stand) | OH: H. 6,3 cm, Diam. 12,1 cm (Excl. stand)

未知

Finely potted with deep rounded sides rising from a short tapered foot to a gently flared rim, the interior painted in underglaze cobalt blue with a central medallion depicting an elegantly seated lady on a terrace affectionately patting the head of a young child standing before her. The scene is reserved within a circular panel beneath a narrow band of stylised floral scrolls and camellia blossoms encircling the inner rim. The exterior is delicately inscribed in flowing cursive script (caoshu) with a four-line, twenty-eight-character poem rendered in outline and wash technique. The base bears a six-character reign mark of Longqing within a double circle.
The cursive inscription on the exterior consists of a twenty-eight-character excerpt from Canfu Yin (蚕妇吟, Song of the Silkworm Woman) by the Southern Song poet Xie Fangde. The poem reads:
子规啼彻四更时，起视蚕稠怕叶稀。
不信楼头杨柳月，玉人歌舞未曾归。
Translated by Hobson, it reads:
“Not only does the moon shine through the willows before the storeyed house,
But the pretty girls continue to dance and sing.
The nightjar ceases not to sing until the fourth watch of the night;
Take heed lest the silkworms have not leaves enough.”
The companion bowl to this one is currently in The Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, The British Museum, London (museum no. PDF.622, link) and illustrated in 'Illustrated Catalogue Underglaze Blue and Copper Red Decorated Porcelains' by Margaret Medley, pl. 1, no. 622. There are three other comparable bowls known, apparently from the same set. One is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, object no. 2010.59 (link), another in the Riesco collection, and a third sold by Sotheby's Hong Kong, 7 April 2015, lot 3725. (sold HKD 525.000, link)
此碗胎體輕薄，製作精巧，深弧腹，下承矮而微收的圈足，口沿微撇。碗心青花雙圈內繪庭院母子圖，一仕女端坐露臺之上，慈愛地輕撫面前幼童的頭頂。內壁近口沿處環飾窄幅纏枝花卉及山茶花紋。外壁以流暢草書書寫七言絕句一首，共四行二十八字，字體以青花勾勒並暈染。底部青花雙圈內書「大明隆慶年製」六字款。
外壁所書詩文為南宋詩人謝枋得《蠶婦吟》：
子规啼彻四更时，起视蚕稠怕叶稀。
不信楼头杨柳月，玉人歌舞未曾归。
詩中以徹夜養蠶的農婦與通宵歌舞的富貴人家形成鮮明對照：杜鵑啼至四更，蠶婦起身察看，唯恐桑葉不足，而月照樓頭楊柳之時，歌舞宴樂仍未散去。
與本碗成對的另一件現藏倫敦大英博物館大維德中國藝術基金會，館藏編號 PDF.622（link），並著錄於 Margaret Medley《Illustrated Catalogue of Underglaze Blue and Copper Red Decorated Porcelains》，圖版1，編號622。
另有三件同類碗傳世，應出自同一組器物：一件藏於紐約大都會藝術博物館，館藏編號2010.59 (link)，一件藏於 Riesco 收藏；另一件於2015年4月7日經香港蘇富比拍賣，拍品3725號，以525,000港元成交（link)。
Provenance:
The Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, no. 623.
Sotheby & Co., 15 October 1968, lot 101. Sold by order of the Governing Body of the School of Oriental Art and African Studies acting on behalf of the University of London.
S. Marchant & Son, London, acquired from the above.
The Dr. Carew-Shaw Collection, acquired from the above.
S. Marchant & Son, London.
The Drs. A. M. Sengers Collection, collection no. 162, acquired from the above in June 1983.
S. Marchant & Son, London, with their label to the base.
The Mr. and Mrs. Baert-Devos Collection, Belgium. Acquired from the above on 19 October 2001 and accompanied by a copy of their original invoice. (see added scans)
Exhibited & published:
S. Marchant & Son, London, included in their 2001 exhibition of 'Ming Blue and White Porcelain - The Drs. A. M. Sengers Collection', and published in the accompanying catalogue, pp. 16-17, no. 11. Also published and discussed in their 2025 publication 'One Hundred Years', Vol. I, p. 48, fig. 36.