Brush washer, Ru ware
Description
Ru, Ding, Ge, Jun and Guan are traditionally considered the five classic kilns of the Song dynasty. Ru ware produced during the early 12th century are extremely rare today, with less than 70 works extant . Accompanying this washer is a document written by a gentleman called Chen Yuanhui, which dates to be one autumn day in the Bingwu year of the Guangxu period (1906). According to it, Chen's father Chen Rui'an acquired the washer in Liulichang in Beijing. Originally it carried an inscription of a poem by Emperor Qianlong, written in the Jihai year (1779), on the base, which reads: At Ruzhou during the Song Dynasty, a celadon ware used agate powder as its glaze. No like artifice Jingdezhen could devise, with an emerald-like blue hue floating on the surface. Chen Rui'an had the inscription removed for fear that the possession of a piece from the Qing imperial collection might prove to be incriminating. Similar collections can be found in the Taipei Palace Museum and the David Foundation of Chinese Art in London.
Object Information
Date Created:
Late Northern Song Dynasty (Early 12th Century)
Local ID:
C1994.0064
Collection:
K.S. Lo Collection of Tea Ware and Seals
Dimensions:
H 3.6 cm Dia 13.5 cm
Materials:
Ceramics
Period:
Late Northern Song Dynasty (Early 12th Century)
Classification:
Ceramics
Rights:
Hong Kong Museum of Art
