A VERY RARE CLOISONNE ENAMEL WHITE-GROUND EWER, TOGETHER WITH A CUP AND SAUCER 18th century (3)A VERY RARE CLOISONNE ENAMEL WHITE-GROUND EWER, TOGETHER WITH A CUP AND SAUCER18th centuryThe pear-shaped body rising from a tall spreading foot decorated with lotus lappets to a waisted and knopped neck flaring towards the mouth to an everted rim under the domed cover, set with a tall loop handle opposite a curved spout with floral scrolls issuing from a gilt 'makara' head, both attached to the body through a strut, decorated with applied gilt sheep on the finial and the struts, a peach-shaped panel to each side enclosing a medallion with crane and rockwork on waves, together with other auspicious symbols, similarly adorned on the lid and the body with the Bajixiang, the Eight Buddhist Emblems amidst meandering stems and leaves, all reserved on a white ground, the interior and the base enamelled in bright turquoise-blue; the cup and saucer similarly decorated with the Eight Buddhist Emblems amidst meandering stems and leaves in gilt and reserved on a white ground, the handle of the cup in the form of an openwork chi dragon. Ewer: 33.5cm (13 1/4in) high; cup: 6.2cm (2 1/2in) diam.; saucer: 10.8cm (4 1/4in) diam. (3).十八世紀 銅胎白地掐絲琺瑯八吉祥纏枝蓮紋帶蓋執壺、杯連盞托Monochrome white cloisonnés enamel vessels are very rare. Compare with a related cloisonné enamel basin of the Qianlong period in the Brooklyn Museum, decorated with the same design of Bajixiang amidst scrolling foliage, exhibited and illustrated in Cloisonné: Chinese Enamels from the Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, New York, 2011, p.272, no.95; and see also a discussion in the book about monochrome white cloisonné wares' role as wine vessels in Tibetan Buddhist ritual offering scenes.For a prototype of the present vase, see a gold ewer excavated in the Ming dynasty Liang zhuang wang tomb in Hubei, illustrated in Hubei Provincial Museum ed., Hubei chutu wenwu jingcui, Beijing, 2006, no.142; see also a Qianlong period cloisonné enamel 'lotus' ewer in the Beijing Palace Museum, illustrated in the Compendium of Collections in the Palace Museum, Beijing, 2011, vol.2, no.266.Compare with a closely related 18th century cloisonnés enamel white-ground Tibetan-style ewer, which was sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 30 May 2012, lot 3093.壺蓋隆起，鈕鑄銅鎏金羔羊回首坐立，蓋身白地琺瑯為底，銅鎏金掐絲作番蓮紋一周及如意雲頭紋填地，蓋與壺子母口，口沿鎏金，頸微束，中起鎏金棱線一周，溜肩鼓腹而兩面扁平，前後置細彎流與S形手柄，流底部作鎏金鏨刻摩羯頭，流嘴與鋬上部鑄鎏金短橋與頸部相連，短橋之上飾回首羔羊，壺身正反面飾滴露形開光，內飾海水江崖、松、竹、鶴、卍字、方勝、靈芝及蝙蝠紋，壺身兩側則飾佛教八寶，間以番蓮紋，壺身通體填白料琺瑯，圈足外撇，飾仰蓮，壺內及足內施松石釉。所配杯盞一如壺身以白料為地，杯身飾鎏金掐絲八寶，內裡施白釉，杯鋬作銅鎏金螭龍貌，盞托盤形，內減地一層與杯圈足嚴合，盞壁內外飾八寶一周，盞心飾連枝蓮紋一周，盞底滿飾連枝番蓮紋。 此套壺與杯盞全以白料琺瑯為地，與鎏金掐絲對比鮮明。美國布魯克林博物館藏一件清乾隆白地掐絲琺瑯水洗形制裝飾與本件一致，以白料為地，飾以佛教八寶，見B.Quette編，《Cloisonné: Chinese Enamels from the Yuan, Ming, and Qing Dynasties》，紐約，2011年，編號95。香港佳士得曾售出一件掐絲琺瑯白地多穆壺，工藝設計與本件屬同類，2012年5月30日，拍品編號3093。學者認為此類掐絲八寶白地琺瑯器具專為禮佛而造，相關討論見前書，頁54，那麼本套壺及杯盞則可能為供酒器。藏傳佛教之教規不同於中原佛教嚴格禁酒，密宗中的寧瑪、葛舉允許僧侶飲酒，並且認為有助於修行，祭祀也會在佛前供奉酒類。此壺形制承襲自明代—梨形壺身、細彎流，以短橋與壺頸相連，可比較湖北明代梁莊王出土一件金執壺，其器型乃至壺身滴露裝飾，與本件似一脈相承，見王紅星主編，《湖北出土文物精粹》，北京，2006年，編號142。清代掐絲琺瑯執壺彎流底部多作張口龍首，流鋬與壺頸多以短橋相連，可比較北京故宮藏一件清乾隆掐絲琺瑯勾蓮紋執壺，見《故宮博物院藏品大系琺瑯器篇》，北京，2011年，卷2，編號266。