元青花瓷“匜”及相关问题

元青花瓷“匜”及相关问题On the Yuan Blue-and-white Porcelain Yi and Related Issues

元代青花瓷中常见一种名之为'匜'的器形,其用途在展览及图录中多定为水器。本文通过检索出土及文献资料发现,这种'匜'除青花瓷外,也见于景德镇影青、龙泉窑青瓷,又见于银器和铜器,出土时往往与玉壶春瓶、台盏同出,应作温酒器之用。肇始于南宋(金),终于明初,是元代特定饮酒习俗的产物。其原型当是由煮茶、温药或温酒的'铫'去柄演变而来;文献中有'盂'、'有嘴折盂'、'盂镟'等名称,而元代文献中所载的匡则指祭祀中用于净手的仿三代造型的礼器。

Commonly seen among Yuan blue-and-white porcelain ware is the object with the shape of what museologists call yi,which is more than often defined as a water vessel in exhibitions and catalogs.This paper,through a search of unearthed objects and historical documents,discovers that such yi objects are seen not only among blue-and-white porcelain ware,but also among misty-blue porcelain ware from Jingdezhen,celadon ware from Longquan Kiln,and silver and copper objects.They began to appear in the Southern Song(Jin)dynasty and disappeared in the early Ming dynasty.They are usually unearthed together with pear-shaped vases and stemmed wine cups,so they should be utensils used to warm up wine-a variation of diao used for boiling tea or warming up medical decoction or wine.Historical documents have the denominations of yu,"bend yu with a sprout"or"twisted yu",while the yi mentioned in historical records actually refers to the ritual vessel modeled after the shape of similar objects from China’s first three dynasties and used for washing hands in sacrificial ceremonies.