Jiajing incised six-character mark and of the period The compressed globular body raising to a tall flaring neck, set with a slender S-shaped spout and a C-shaped handle, the exterior brightly enamelled on a turquoise ground with cranes in flight amidst scrolling clouds, the flared foot further decorated with a band of scrolls on green ground, the base incised with a six-character da ming jiajing nian zhi mark. 20.2cm (8 in) high. 注脚 明嘉靖 銅胎掐絲琺瑯雲鶴紋執壺 「大明嘉靖年製」刻款 The present ewer is an extremely rare example of cloisonné enamel wares with a Jiajing Imperial reign mark. Very few cloisonné enamel pieces with Jiajing reign mark and of the period, appear to have been published, which include: • A cloisonné enamel 'dragon and phoenix' dish in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Metal-bodied Enamel Ware, Hong Kong, 2002, no.46; • A cloisonné enamel 'phoenix' bowl and a 'dragon' dish in the Uldry Collection, illustrated by H.Brinker and A.Lutz, Chinesisches Cloisonné: Die Sammlung Pierre Uldry, Zurich, 1984, pls.70 and 71; • A cloisonné enamel 'dragon' dish, illustrated in Gems of Beijing Cultural Relics Series: Works of Decorative Arts, vol.1, Beijing, 2006, pls.130-132; • A cloisonné enamel 'crane and shou-character' jar in the Phoenix Art Museum, illustrated by B.Quette, ed., Cloisonné: Chinese Enamels from the Yuan, Ming, and Qing Dynasties, New York, 2011, no.37; • Two examples in the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, comprising a cloisonné enamel 'cranes' bowl and a cloisonné enamel octagonal 'scholars' box and cover, illustrated by B.Quette, ibid., nos.38 and 39. Among the Ming dynasty emperors, the Jiajing emperor was particularly fervent in his Daoist beliefs. The decoration on the present ewer is both dynamic and evocative, while the shape of the ewer gives it a real presence. Its high quality combined with the themes of Daoism and Immortality would have made it most appropriate for the celebration of the birthday of the Jiajing emperor. The crane-and-cloud motif are symbols of Immortality, similar decorative motifs can also be found on Imperial lacquer wares, such as a circular lacquer 'crane and clouds' box and cover, Jiajing mark and period, in the Qing Court Collection, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Lacquer Wares of the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, Hong Kong, 2006, no.137. See also a related small cloisonné enamel 'fish' jar, Jiajing mark and period, which was sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 2 April 2018, lot 3412. Please refer to the essay by Zhang Rong in this catalogue for further discussion on Jiajing mark and period cloisonné enamel wares. 此件雲鶴紋執壺屬於嘉靖一朝宮廷掐絲琺瑯器極為少見之孤品，帶有嘉慶一朝年款的掐絲琺瑯器不多，根據目前統計，已發表的在公私機構收藏的嘉靖款掐絲琺瑯器一共有如下幾件： • 北京故宮博物院藏一件明嘉靖掐絲琺瑯龍鳳紋盤，著錄於《故宮博物院藏文物珍品大系：金屬胎琺瑯器》，香港，2002年，編號46。 • 瑞士Pierre Uldry藏兩件：一件掐絲琺瑯鳳紋碗以及一件掐絲琺瑯龍紋盤，著錄於H.Brinker and A.Lutz, 《Chinesisches Cloisonné: Die Sammlung Pierre Uldry》，蘇黎世，1984年，圖版70及71。 • 北京文物公司藏一件明嘉靖龍紋盤，著錄於《北京文物精粹大系：工藝品卷》，上卷，北京，2006年，編號130-132。 • 美國鳳凰城博物館藏一件嘉慶款掐絲琺瑯雲鶴壽字紋小罐，著錄於《Cloisonné. Chinese Enamels from the Yuan, Ming, and Qing Dynasties》，紐約，2011年，編號37。 • 巴黎裝飾藝術博物館藏兩件：包括一件雲鶴壽字紋碗和一件攜琴訪友圖八方蓋盒，見B. Quette編同前著錄，編號38及39。 嘉靖皇帝一生崇信道教，極為推崇老莊思想，至嘉靖二十一年之後他更是不顧朝政，潛心修玄，致使宮廷器物中處處洋溢道教色彩，祈福納祥雲的圖案和紋飾在漆器、瓷器上也大量出現，如清宮舊藏一件明嘉靖 剔彩雲鶴紋圓盒，其紋飾與此掐絲琺瑯執壺相似，著錄於《故宮博物院文物珍品大系：元明漆器》，香港，2006年，編號137。 相關蘇富比曾售出一件明嘉靖款掐絲琺瑯魚藻紋小罐，可資參考，2018年4月2日，拍品編號3412。 更多有關明嘉靖款掐絲琺瑯器的討論，請參看本圖錄中張榮的專文論述。