天價雞缸杯將現身蘇富比春拍

Among the deep-pocketed collectors of Chinese antique ceramics, few pieces arouse as much excitement as the small Ming dynasty-era bowls commonly known as the 'chicken cups.'

在中國古代瓷器收藏圈裏，鮮有藏品能夠像明成化“雞缸杯”(chicken cup)那樣引得一衆富豪收藏家趨之若鶩。

The bowls, small enough to be held comfortably in the palm of the hand, were created between 1465 and 1487 and are named for the chickens painted on their sides. Only 19 are known to exist, and of those just four are in private hands, with the rest in museum collections.

雞缸杯不足一掌大小，燒製於明代成化時期（公元1465至1487年），因其杯壁上畫有公雞母雞，故稱雞缸杯。現存於世的雞缸杯只有19只，其中四隻在私人藏家手中，其餘均被博物館收藏。

But one of those four will be going up for sale on April 8 at a Sotheby's auction in Hong Kong and is estimated to fetch as much as US$38.5 million.

但這四隻雞缸杯中將有一隻現身4月8日的香港蘇富比(Sotheby)拍賣會，估價高達3,850萬美元。

Part of the Meiyintang collection owned by Switzerland's Zuellig family, this same bowl was also the last chicken cup to go up for auction, in 1999. At a Sotheby's sale in Hong Kong, it brought US$3.7 million -- at the time, a record for a Chinese porcelain.

這隻明成化鬥彩雞缸杯是瑞士裕利(Zuellig)家族“玫茵堂”(Meiyintang)的藏品，1999年最後一次現身拍賣會的雞缸杯也正是這一隻。在當年的香港蘇富比拍賣會上，這隻雞缸杯拍出了370萬美元的天價，刷新中國瓷器世界拍賣紀錄。

Prices for Chinese ceramics have skyrocketed since, but reverence for these cups has remained constant since imperial times. Several works of Chinese literature reference the chicken cups, often describing how emperors and nobles spent fortunes to obtain them in the 17th century.

此後中國瓷器價格一路飆高，但雞缸杯的尊貴地位自帝王時代以來從未被動搖。幾部中國文學作品曾經提到過雞缸杯，均是描寫17世紀的皇帝和貴族如何散盡千金，就爲得到這樣一隻小小的杯子。

'This is the crowning glory for collectors,' said Nicholas Chow, Sotheby's expert in Chinese ceramics. But what makes this one so valuable? He explains:

蘇富比的中國瓷器專家仇國仕(Nicholas Chow)說，對於藏友來說，擁有一隻雞缸杯是至高無上的榮耀。至於雞缸杯爲何價值連城，他給出瞭如下解釋：

Chenghua porcelains: The wares from this 15th-century period, known as the Chenghua era after the Ming dynasty emperor who ruled at the time, are regarded as 'the peak in material refinement,' according to Mr. Chow. The imperial kilns of the period exercised strict quality control, and he likens Chenghua porcelains to silk. 'It's very sensuous -- the only porcelain you can tell blind,' he said.

成化瓷：據仇國仕介紹，燒製於15世紀明代成化年間的成化瓷被視爲制瓷藝術的頂峯。當時的官窯產品質量極其講究，仇國仕將其比作絲綢。他說，成化瓷的手感很特別，是唯一閉着眼睛都能摸出來的瓷器品種。

Emperors love chickens: The painting is a naive, almost childish, color depiction of a rooster and a hen taking care of a young chick -- a parable for Confucian virtues that extend to an emperor's looking after his subjects. The simplicity is what makes this cup so desirable, said Mr. Chow, and the artist's 'impressionistic' style is atypical for that time.

帝王鍾愛“雞”：這隻雞缸杯上所繪的是一隻公雞和一隻母雞帶着一隻小雞的場景，色彩繽紛鮮明，畫風率真可人，寓意帝王善待子民的儒家思想。仇國仕說，風格質 正是這隻杯子如此受人喜愛的原因，這種寫意畫風是當時主要的藝術風格形式。

Fakes abound: Mr. Chow said the chicken cups are the most-copied bowls in China, and even the Chenghua examples in museums have aroused suspicion. In a Sotheby's catalog essay about next week's chicken-cup sale, ceramics expert Regina Krahl wrote that former Sotheby's Chairman Julian Thompson contested that the two examples at the Palace Museum in Beijing are fakes. (The museum declared in an official 1999 catalog that they are authentic.) Today, antique markets in China offer imitations for as little as a few yuan apiece. 'It's like hanging a copy of the Mona Lisa,' Mr. Chow said. 'Everybody's heard of the chicken cup.'

仿品衆多：仇國仕說，雞缸杯是中國被仿製最多的瓷器，甚至博物館裏的一些藏品也被懷疑是後朝仿品。在下週蘇富比的拍賣目錄介紹中，瓷器專家康蕊君(Regina Krahl)寫道，蘇富比前董事長朱湯生(Julian Thompson)曾表示北京故宮博物院收藏的兩隻明成化鬥彩雞缸杯是後朝仿品。（故宮博物院在1999年的官方藏品目錄中稱它們是真品。）如今，在中國的古玩市場上，花幾塊錢就能買到一隻雞缸杯的仿品。仇國仕說，它就像是到處可見的“蒙娜麗莎”仿品，人人都聽說過雞缸杯。