蒲柳水禽文浄瓶ほりゅうすいきんもんじょうへい

  • 高麗時代
  • 12-13c
  • 金銅銀象嵌
  • H-37.2 D-13
解説(開館1周年記念展)

仏に供える浄水を入れる容器である。膨らんだ胴部に付いた蓋付きの注口から水を入れ,細長い頂部から水を注ぐ。

全体の形を見ると,高台は低く胴張りもスリムであり,注口の面取りは甘い。もともとは蓋であった頚部の中間の張り出しも,上側への膨らみはない。ただ,この張り出しの上側に真鍮もしくは銀とおぼしき金属が見られ,その上に漆のようなものが塗られた可能性もある。

頂部の注口の周りには,細く残る銀の線象嵌で葉状の文様3葉を表し,頚部には雲文が浮かび,肩および底周りに如意頭文を巡らす。胴部には柔らかく風に揺れる柳を表現し,裏面には薄が揺れている。それらを取り囲む水面には水鳥と小舟,空には連なる雁が飛ぶ。

この形の浄瓶は,よく高麗仏画の水月観音の前に柳の枝を生けて描かれる。唐の義浄が受用三水要行法に「浄水瓶常水瓶あり」と説き「寧ぞ唯一の銅瓶に容れて浄觸を分かたざらんや」と述べていることから考えて,かつては浄水を極めて厳格に区別することが求められていたと思われる。浄瓶はそういった事情から生まれ,インドから中国,朝鮮,日本において数種の形が発達したが,この頃の高麗では既に浄瓶が日常生活にも広く用いられ,酒や湯蜜を入れる場合などもあったようである。

Catalogue Entry

This vessel was meant to hold water for offering at a Buddhist altar. Water is poured into the vessel from the lidded mouth connected to the swell of the torso and poured out from the spout at the top.

In terms of the whole form, this pitcher has a low foot and a relatively slim torso. The spout has roughly beveled edges. In this kind of sprinkler, the projection in the middle of the neck was originally a lid. In the present work, however, the projection is no more a lid, so there is not outstanding swelling on its upper part. On the top side of this projection, metal, perhaps brass or silver, is observed. This area might have been once covered with lacquer.

Three plant leaves, executed in silver wire inlay, which remain still visible today, encircle the spout at the top. The neck is decorated with cloud designs and the shoulders and the bottom are adorned with nuyi pattern (lapet or cloud collar pattern). Swaying willows in the breeze on one side and waving pampas grass on the other add interest to this ewer. Water fowls and small boats are depicted on the surface of the water surrounding them. In the sky, wild geese fly in a row.

This style of ewer, containing willow branches, frequently appears in front of the image of Suigetsu Kannon in Koryo Buddhist paintings. A Tang dynasty Buddhist monk Yijing wrote "There are two types of bottles bottles for holy water and bottles for ordinary water" and asked "How could you separate holy water from unclean water, if you were to pour both into the same copper ewer?" Judging from these, it is likely that holy water was to be separated strictly. Sprinklers were born and developed from the necessity of separating holy water, and several types were produced in India, China, Korea, and Japan. Apparently, in those days in the Koryo dynasty, sprinklers were widely used in daily life, for serving wine or hot honey water, in some cases.