Page 113 - Christies Alsdorf Collection Part 1 Sept 24 2020 NYC

“ ...the late seventeenth and early eighteenth

century monochrome wares in the Alsdorf

Collection owe their glazes and their forms

to the passionate interest in porcelain

production demonstrated by the three great

Qing emperors...”

‘Guan glazes on an iron body, including moon-white, Qianlong laudatory inscriptions (see Obtaining Refined
pale green and deep green. They are all copied from Enjoyment - The Qianlong Emperor’s Taste in Ceramics,
ancient pieces sent from the Imperial Palace.’ and ‘Ge Taipei, 2012, pp. 82-7, nos. 17-19). Ru ware vessels
glazes with iron body, including millet colour and of this form are shown being used as planters in a
pale green, copied from ancient pieces sent from the number of Qing court paintings, including One or Two
Imperial Palace.’ – Painting of the Emperor Qianlong Appreciating Antiques,
discussed above.
(These passages are translated into English by Peter Lam
in Shimmering Colours – Monochromes of the Yuan to Qing It is likely that in the case of the narcissus bowl form
Periods – The Zhuyuetang Collection, Hong Kong, 2005, mentioned on the stele, that Song dynasty Ru ware
p. 44.) vessels, like Guan wares, may have been sent from the
court to Jingdezhen in order for them to be copied.
The Yongzheng Emperor was obviously willing to send
However, this is much clearer in another entry on the
precious Song-dynasty wares more than a thousand
Taocheng jishi beiji, which notes:
kilometres from Beijing to Jingdezhen in order to ensure
that potters working at the imperial Qing kilns were able ‘Ru glazes with fish-roe crackle on a copper body,
to produce an accurate copy of the glaze and possibly copied from a specimen of the Song sent from the
also the shape. Palace’. (translated by Peter Lam ibid.) The description of
‘copper’ body probably refers to the fact that where the
There is also clear evidence that the Yongzheng
glaze on Song dynasty Ru wares does not cover the body
Emperor was also a great admirer of Song Ru wares.
of the vessel during firing, the surface of the exposed
That evidence comes not only from the two imperial
body material re-oxidises when air is allowed into the
scrolls dating to 1728 and 1729 depicting treasures in his
kiln at the end of the firing process and the exposed
collection, mentioned above, but also from Tang Ying’s
area takes on a reddish colour. Lam has noted that this
Taocheng jishi. Tang Ying recorded:
‘copper’ body was recreated on Yongzheng copies of Ru
‘Ru glaze without crackle on a ‘copper’ body, copied ware (see Peter Y. K. Lam, ‘Qing Monochromes and
from a dish-washer of the Song dynasty’ (translated into Tang Ying’, A Millennium of Monochromes, Geneva, 2018,
English by Peter Lam ibid.) p. 156). Both the Yongzheng Emperor and his successor,
the Qianlong emperor, commissioned ceramics with
In the National Palace Museum, Taipei catalogue to Song-style glazes in a wide range of forms.
their 2006 exhibition Grand View: Special Exhibition of Ju
Ware from the Northern Sung Dynasty, the authors suggest Thus, the late seventeenth and early eighteenth century
that the shape called maoshi pan (literally cat’s food bowl) monochrome wares in the Alsdorf Collection owe
in the 1735 stele text is in fact what is usually referred to their glazes and their forms to the passionate interest in
as a ‘narcissus bowl’ of oval shape and with four low feet porcelain production demonstrated by the three great
(see View: Special Exhibition of Ju Ware from the Norther Qing emperors, which was often inspired by imperial
Sung Dynasty, 2006, pp. 32-61, nos. 7-9). (Fig. 4) The fascination with antiques, and led to encouragement of
three examples in the National Palace Museum all bear innovation and technical development.

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