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LOT 14

A fine peachbloom-glazed brush washer, Mark and period of Kangxi | 清康熙 豇豆紅釉鏜鑼洗 《大清康熙年製》款

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A fine peachbloom-glazed brush washer
Mark and period of Kangxi
清康熙 豇豆紅釉鏜鑼洗 《大清康熙年製》款

the base with a six-character mark in underglaze blue

Diameter 4⅝ in., 11.7 cm

Condition Report:
In excellent condition with minor firing imperfections.
整體品相良好,見少許微細窰燒瑕疵。

For more information on and additional videos for this lot, please contact serina.wei@sothebys.com

Catalogue Note:
In 1957, Ralph M. Chait published his influential essay 'The Eight Prescribed Peachbloom Shapes Bearing K'ang Hsi Marks', beautifully summarizing the famed peachbloom glaze found on Kangxi imperial ware: 'its softly luminous velvety texture and color tone…likened to "the coloring of the rind of a peach ripening in the sun"' (see Oriental Art, vol. III, no. 4, Winter 1957, p. 130). Indeed, the understated elegance of the peachbloom glaze is perfectly exemplified in this present washer – its dark-red flecks subtly emerging from an attractive peach-pink ground.

With its wide range of tones and variegated effects, the peachbloom glaze ranks amongst the most important innovations developed by the imperial kilns at Jingdezhen. After a period of standstill that lasted nearly sixty years from the end of the Wanli period, the imperial kilns at Jingdezhen were revived and placed under the direct control of the court. The appointment of Zang Yingxuan as supervisor of the imperial kilns and his arrival at Jingdezhen in the 20th year of Kangxi's reign, corresponding to 1681, initiated a new era of high-quality production coupled with technical innovation.

Largely abandoned after the reign of the Xuande Emperor due to the difficulty in firing, copper pigment was rediscovered by the kilns during the Kangxi period with a newfound appreciation of the serendipitous effects that the elusive pigment produced during firing. To control the pigment's tendency to run, copper-lime was sprayed onto the surface of the vessel through a bamboo tube that had a piece of gauze at one end, 'sandwiched' between two layers of clear glaze. This technique allowed for a wide spectrum of natural effects, 'ranging from the deep muted tones of ashes-of-roses and the apple-red to the lighter luminous glowing peach-pink' (ibid.).

The delicately potted, low, round form of the present washer is particularly complementary to the lustrous glaze and many of these washers are included in important international museums and private collections. A closely related washer in the Palace Museum, Beijing, is illustrated in Kangxi, Yongzheng, Qianlong. Qing Porcelain from the Palace Museum Collection, Hong Kong, 1989, pl. 123; one in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, is illustrated with a group of peachbloom-glazed vessels in Suzanne Valenstein, A Handbook of Chinese Ceramics, New York, 1989, pl. 236; two from the collection of Peter A.B. Widener, in the National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C., are published in Virginia Bower et al., The Collections of the National Gallery of Art. Systematic Catalogue: Decorative Arts, Part I, Washington, 1998, pls 72-3; one in the Baur Collection is illustrated in John Ayers, The Baur Collection, vol. 3, Geneva, 1972, pl. A309; another, from the Sir Percival David Collection and now in the British Museum, London, is included in Rosemary Scott, Illustrated Catalogue of Ming and Ch'ing Monochrome Wares in the Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, London, 1989, pl. B582; and a further example, of a darker-red tone, in the Shanghai Museum, Shanghai, is illustrated in The Complete Works of Chinese Ceramics, Qing, vol. 14, Shanghai, 1999, pl. 105.

Many have also appeared at auction over the years. See three from the Edward T. Chow Collection, one illustrated in Cecile and Michel Beurdeley, La Céramique Chinoise, Fribourg, 1974, pl. 98, sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 17th May 1988, lot 61; one entered the M.C. Wang Collection and was sold at Christie's New York, 19th March 2008, lot 636; and the last was sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 8th April 2009, lot 1657. Compare another washer included in a set of eight peachbloom-glazed vessels from the Tsui Museum of Art, illustrated in The Tsui Museum of Art: Chinese Ceramics, vol. IV: Qing, Hong Kong, 1993, pl. 6, and sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 3rd November 1996, lot 557. More recently, see one suffused with pale green speckles, previously in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago, sold at Christie's New York, 11th September 2019, lot 726; one with mottling of lighter pink and green shades, sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 4th June 2020, lot 532; and lastly, one of a brilliant crimson glaze, sold in these rooms, 21st September 2021, lot 140.

1957年,著名古董商Ralph M. Chait發表了〈The Eight Prescribed Peachbloom Shapes Bearing K'ang Hsi Marks〉一文,對研究豇豆紅釉器影響深遠,當中概述了康熙時期官窰創燒的豇豆紅釉︰「其色淡雅柔和,釉質細膩勻淨如天鵝絨……擁有『陽光下成熟桃子外皮的顏色』」(見《Oriental...

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[ translate ]

A fine peachbloom-glazed brush washer
Mark and period of Kangxi
清康熙 豇豆紅釉鏜鑼洗 《大清康熙年製》款

the base with a six-character mark in underglaze blue

Diameter 4⅝ in., 11.7 cm

Condition Report:
In excellent condition with minor firing imperfections.
整體品相良好,見少許微細窰燒瑕疵。

For more information on and additional videos for this lot, please contact serina.wei@sothebys.com

Catalogue Note:
In 1957, Ralph M. Chait published his influential essay 'The Eight Prescribed Peachbloom Shapes Bearing K'ang Hsi Marks', beautifully summarizing the famed peachbloom glaze found on Kangxi imperial ware: 'its softly luminous velvety texture and color tone…likened to "the coloring of the rind of a peach ripening in the sun"' (see Oriental Art, vol. III, no. 4, Winter 1957, p. 130). Indeed, the understated elegance of the peachbloom glaze is perfectly exemplified in this present washer – its dark-red flecks subtly emerging from an attractive peach-pink ground.

With its wide range of tones and variegated effects, the peachbloom glaze ranks amongst the most important innovations developed by the imperial kilns at Jingdezhen. After a period of standstill that lasted nearly sixty years from the end of the Wanli period, the imperial kilns at Jingdezhen were revived and placed under the direct control of the court. The appointment of Zang Yingxuan as supervisor of the imperial kilns and his arrival at Jingdezhen in the 20th year of Kangxi's reign, corresponding to 1681, initiated a new era of high-quality production coupled with technical innovation.

Largely abandoned after the reign of the Xuande Emperor due to the difficulty in firing, copper pigment was rediscovered by the kilns during the Kangxi period with a newfound appreciation of the serendipitous effects that the elusive pigment produced during firing. To control the pigment's tendency to run, copper-lime was sprayed onto the surface of the vessel through a bamboo tube that had a piece of gauze at one end, 'sandwiched' between two layers of clear glaze. This technique allowed for a wide spectrum of natural effects, 'ranging from the deep muted tones of ashes-of-roses and the apple-red to the lighter luminous glowing peach-pink' (ibid.).

The delicately potted, low, round form of the present washer is particularly complementary to the lustrous glaze and many of these washers are included in important international museums and private collections. A closely related washer in the Palace Museum, Beijing, is illustrated in Kangxi, Yongzheng, Qianlong. Qing Porcelain from the Palace Museum Collection, Hong Kong, 1989, pl. 123; one in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, is illustrated with a group of peachbloom-glazed vessels in Suzanne Valenstein, A Handbook of Chinese Ceramics, New York, 1989, pl. 236; two from the collection of Peter A.B. Widener, in the National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C., are published in Virginia Bower et al., The Collections of the National Gallery of Art. Systematic Catalogue: Decorative Arts, Part I, Washington, 1998, pls 72-3; one in the Baur Collection is illustrated in John Ayers, The Baur Collection, vol. 3, Geneva, 1972, pl. A309; another, from the Sir Percival David Collection and now in the British Museum, London, is included in Rosemary Scott, Illustrated Catalogue of Ming and Ch'ing Monochrome Wares in the Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, London, 1989, pl. B582; and a further example, of a darker-red tone, in the Shanghai Museum, Shanghai, is illustrated in The Complete Works of Chinese Ceramics, Qing, vol. 14, Shanghai, 1999, pl. 105.

Many have also appeared at auction over the years. See three from the Edward T. Chow Collection, one illustrated in Cecile and Michel Beurdeley, La Céramique Chinoise, Fribourg, 1974, pl. 98, sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 17th May 1988, lot 61; one entered the M.C. Wang Collection and was sold at Christie's New York, 19th March 2008, lot 636; and the last was sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 8th April 2009, lot 1657. Compare another washer included in a set of eight peachbloom-glazed vessels from the Tsui Museum of Art, illustrated in The Tsui Museum of Art: Chinese Ceramics, vol. IV: Qing, Hong Kong, 1993, pl. 6, and sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 3rd November 1996, lot 557. More recently, see one suffused with pale green speckles, previously in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago, sold at Christie's New York, 11th September 2019, lot 726; one with mottling of lighter pink and green shades, sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 4th June 2020, lot 532; and lastly, one of a brilliant crimson glaze, sold in these rooms, 21st September 2021, lot 140.

1957年,著名古董商Ralph M. Chait發表了〈The Eight Prescribed Peachbloom Shapes Bearing K'ang Hsi Marks〉一文,對研究豇豆紅釉器影響深遠,當中概述了康熙時期官窰創燒的豇豆紅釉︰「其色淡雅柔和,釉質細膩勻淨如天鵝絨……擁有『陽光下成熟桃子外皮的顏色』」(見《Oriental...

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Time, Location
21 Mar 2023
USA, New York, NY
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