明清官窑大器发展的四个高峰时期

Four Peaks in the Development of Large Vessels from Official Kilns in the Ming-Qing Period

北京故宫博物院收藏的明清官窑陶瓷大器,体积硕大,质地精良,无论品种和造型均居世界之首。长期以来由于胎厚体重,搬运困难,再加上出于文物安全的考虑等多方面原因,这类器物多深藏宫中,极少公开展出,研究工作相对滞后。故宫收藏的陶瓷大器基本囊括了明、清两代所有陶瓷大器的造型和品种(外销瓷除外)。本文通过对院藏大器的认真梳理,阐述了大器发展的历史原因及其在明清宫廷中的主要用途,并将大器的发展归纳为四个高峰时段,列举了各个时段的代表作品。作者指出,大器的生产虽然与中小件宫窑瓷器同步,但是由于耗费巨大,与封建国家的经济联系更为紧密,它的烧造不仅直接地反映出景德镇瓷业的兴衰,而且也与封建国家的经济发展同步。

The large vessels from official kilns of the Ming-Qing period in the collection of the Palace Museum in Beijing are very large yet finely wrought and they are the finest examples in the world in terms of type and workmanship.For a long time the heavy bodies of the vessels,the difficulty in moving them and considerations of the safety of the items have meant these vessels have remained hidden in the collection,have been rarely exhibited and little studied.The large vessels in the collection encompass almost every type and style of vessel of the Ming-Qing period, with the exception of large export wares.This article presents a thorough rundown of the entire collection of such vessels and outlines factors in the history of the development of large vessels and their major uses at the Ming and Qing court.The author divides the development of such vessels into four peak periods and lists the representative pieces of each period.The author points out although the production of major pieces advanced together with the production at the official kilns of smaller wares,because the expense was so great and because kiln budgets were linked to the state of the feudal state economy,the history of their firing not only enables us to chronicle the rise and fall of the porcelain industry at Jingdezhen but also sheds light on the development of the feudal economy itself.