A very rare Imperial ruby-enamelled tea bowl


Yongzheng four-character mark and of the periodExquisitely and thinly potted with steep rounded sides rising to an elegantly everted rim supported on a short straight foot, the exterior covered overall with a lustrous enamel of vibrant ruby-pink tone, the underside inscribed with an underglaze blue four-character mark enclosed within a double square. 9.8cm (3 7/8in) diam.
|清雍正 胭脂紅釉碗青花「雍正年製」楷書款Provenance:Baron John Henry Hambro (1904-1965), and thence by descent來源：John Henry Hambro男爵（1904-1965）收藏，並由後人保存迄今John H. Hambro was Chairman of Hambros Bank PLC, 1963-1965. The Hambro banking dynasty traces its descent from Calmer Levy, a Jewish merchant of Hamburg who moved to Copenhagen in 1778 to marry a cousin and take over her father's trading business. Following Danish custom, Calmer wanted to adopt the name of his native town, but it was mis-spelt on the tradesman's licence issued to him by the Copenhagen authorities, and became Hambro. Calmer's grandson, Carl Joachim, established a banking business in London in 1839, which flourished, particularly in financing trade with Scandinavia. For further family history see B.Bramsen and K.Wain, The Hambros 1779 - 1979, London, 1979.The form of the present lot with its very thin walls and rich lustrous enamel, demanded the highest level of technical skill and precision at every stage of its manufacture to avoid the slightest defect in the potting, firing or enamelling.Compare with a similar ruby-pink bowl, Yongzheng four-character mark and of the period, from the Zhuyuetang Collection, illustrated in A Millenium of Monochromes from the Great Tang to the High Qing: The Baur and the Zhuyuetang Collections, Milan, 2018, pp.272-273, no.120. A pair of shallower pink enamelled cups, Yongzheng six-character marks and of the period, is illustrated in The Tsui Museum of Art, vol.IV, Hong Kong, 1991, pl.25. Another Yongzheng six-character mark and period pair of cups, enamelled with scattered prunus blossoms in the interiors, is illustrated in Qing Imperial Monochromes: The Zande Lou Collection, Hong Kong, 2005, pp.66-67, no.16, where it is mentioned that the ruby-pink colour was one of the favorites of the Imperial household.See also a similar ruby-enamelled cup, Yongzheng six-character mark and of the period, which was sold at Sotheby's New York, 15 September 2015, lot 82.盌敞口，略微外翻，斜腹微鼓，收於細小圈足。外施胭脂紅釉，內施白釉，胎體輕薄，玲瓏俊秀。外底青花雙框內書宋體「雍正年製」。胭脂紅創燒於康熙末年，雍正、乾隆、嘉慶、光緒等朝燒造不絕，又以雍正朝最為量大質精。此釉本源歐洲，以金著色，故又名「洋金紅」或「西洋紅」，而其色尤似中土婦女施用的胭脂，故以「胭脂紅」名之。雍正十三年（1735年）督陶官唐英所撰《陶成紀事》記載當時歲例貢御的五十七種釉、彩瓷器中即有「西洋紅色器皿」，當是本拍品一類釉色器物。可參考一件竹月堂藏雍正款胭脂紅釉盌，見L. Schwartz-Arenales編，《千載霓霞：鮑氏東方藝術館及竹月堂藏唐至清一道釉》，米蘭，頁272至273，編號120。另可參考一對雍正六字楷書款胭脂水小盌，見《徐氏藝術館》，卷四，香港，1991年，圖版25。暫得樓藏一對胭脂紅釉盃亦資參考，惟其內壁繪粉彩花卉，見《暫得樓清代官窯單色釉瓷器》，香港，2005年，頁66至67，編號16，書中記載胭脂紅製品在雍正朝深受皇室喜愛。紐約蘇富比曾售一件雍正六字款胭脂紅盃，也可比較之，2015年9月15日，拍品82。John H. Hambro為歐洲銀行巨擘，1963年至1965年為英國Hambros銀行主席。Hombro銀行帝國可以追溯到1778年，其時猶太商人Calmer Levy從德國漢堡遷居丹麥哥本哈根，和表親聯姻後繼承了岳丈的貿易生意。因丹麥傳統，Calmer將自己的姓改為家鄉名字（即漢堡，Hamburg），然而哥本哈根政府在發給他商業牌照上誤錄為Hombro，由此將錯就錯。1839年，Calmer的外孫Carl Joachim於倫敦開辦了銀行業務，與斯堪的納維亞半島的金融業務十分繁榮。更多關於Hambro家族的歷史，可參閱B.Bramsen及K.Wain著，《The Hambros 1779-1979》，倫敦，1979年。