Lot 52: Blue Gold Bumpa Ewer with Cloud and Dragon Design 蓝地描金云龙纹贲巴壶

来源：于八十年代购自香港古玩街古董商店
Provenance: Acquired from an antique shop on Hong Kong’s Antique Street in the 1980s

Diameter 口径 7.2 cm Height 高 19.5 cm Foot Diameter 足径 9.6 cm

Estimate 估价: SGD 700,000 – SGD 900,000
Starting Price 起拍价: SGD 600,000

洗口，束颈，球形腹，高足微撇，腹部有龙首形流，弯曲向上。通体以蓝料地之上绘金彩装饰，以红彩勾勒轮廓，口部、颈部、足部均以金彩绘云蝠纹、回纹、如意云头纹、莲瓣纹等，腹部绘主题纹样——云龙纹，间以洪福飞翔，流部则作龙首嘘状。洗口上下边沿，口部、胫部及足部采用描金缠枝纹装饰，更添富丽堂皇之感。底施松石绿釉，正中落“大清嘉庆年制”矾红六字篆书款。贲巴壶，也称净水瓶、藏草壶，“贲巴”为藏语音译，梵音原作“军持”，意为“瓶”。

The ewer has a basin-shaped mouth, a waisted neck, a globular body and a tall foot that flares slightly outward. A dragon-head spout is applied to the body, curving upwards. The vessel is decorated on a blue enamel ground with gilt designs, the outlines picked out in red enamel. The mouth, neck and foot are ornamented in gilding with cloud-and-bat motifs, key-fret borders, ruyi-cloud heads and lotus-petal patterns. The main decoration on the body is a cloud-and-dragon design, interspersed with flying bats symbolising abundant blessings, while the spout is modelled as a dragon head issuing breath.

The upper and lower edges of the basin-shaped mouth, as well as the mouth, lower body and foot, are further embellished with gilt scrolling floral designs, enhancing the vessel’s sumptuous and majestic appearance. The base is covered with a turquoise-green glaze, and the centre is inscribed in iron red with the six-character seal-script mark: “Da Qing Jiaqing nian zhi” — “Made in the Jiaqing reign of the Great Qing dynasty.”

This type of vessel is known as a “benba ewer”, also referred to as a ritual water vessel or Tibetan-style ewer. The term benba is a Tibetan transliteration, while its Sanskrit form is kundika, meaning “bottle” or “water vessel.”