Page 48 - Beyond Compare Christie's Hong Kong RU WARE .pdf
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BEYOND COMPARE: A Thousand Years of the Literati Aesthetic
Dingzhou patterned porcelains rival the beauty of carved red jade,
When Lugong brews tea in Sichuan style.
- Su Shi, Poem on Tea Brewing at the Examination Hall (1072)
⮚ʮኪГd֛ψڀନߎ͗
༊৫dᘽ༲dဢྐྵʞϋ
n a 1072 poem titled Shiyuan jiancha (Tea Brewing at the Examination ˸ɪ་̩ືІ༊৫d݊̏҂˖Ⴔᘽ༲ίဢྐྵʞϋψ
IHall), the venerated Northern Song literati and statesman Su Shi ஷкࣛᄳɨٙᕏԊ̚་f༁ࠦՑΝྃ˖ܗ௹̏҂dഹ˖
wrote Lugong jiancha xue Xishu, Dingzhou huaci zhuo hongyu, recalling
⮚ʮණ˸Г̚جdಷᅜɪϞڀ७֛ٙᇉͣନdಷЍع
the event when his friend Wen Yanbo (style name Lugong, 1006-1097)
ߎdൖᙂࣖ؈Ϟνᎉٙߎ͗fவՇ̩ᒱӚՑͣοdۍ
brewed tea using practices from Sichuan area, the colour of tea turned red
against a carved Ding white-glazed bowl, the resulting effect resembled ݺᜳݺତή༸֛̈ᇉନٙ౺ᆦͣᆗd˸ʿ֛ᇉኜίࣛމࠬඩ˖ɛ
carved red jade. This important record reveals to us that not only were הఃٙ͜ՈfϞሳٙ݊dߒɚɤϋ˸ܝdίʩॖɞϋ d
Ding bowls used for tea drinking, but were also favoured by esteemed ᘽ༲ան֛̈ٝψd̙Ԉᘽ༲ၾ֛ᇉନϞഹʔ༆ʘᇝfՉ֛ψᑽ
literati in the Song dynasty for its luminous white glaze, which created
Ցڌ༁̩ٙЅʔාܮ͏௶dࡌᗙ௪fೌɽཀd˸ʿ
an attractive contrast with tea colour. Interestingly, two decades after Su
ಂϋfနᒔʘඊd˸ଭࣳๆʘ౻dһீᚣ̈வЗːᖩٙ
Shi wrote the poem on Ding white porcelains, in 1093 he was appointed
˖ɛdྊྊุุήᐄ֛ψ݁ਕٙːྤfᘽ༲˸ܝd֛ψڀନ
Governor of Dingzhou, the state where the Ding kilns were located.
Being a well-respected connoisseur and artist, Su Shi’s praise undoubtedly ɓႧᄿމ˖ɛה͜dԷνږɛᄎ١ ᓥᆑқ༁া֛
solidified the status of Ding porcelains amongst subsequent connoisseurs. ψڀନጀdᕙЍ˂ɨͣd̙ԈࣛЇږ˾ૉಂdϞڀ७֛ٙᇉͣନ
The Jin-dynasty scholar Liu Qi (1203–1259), for example, wrote in his Ա್ଉމ˖ɻה၈dԨிఱ֛ᇉନίܝ˰ዝɮʔসٙήЗf
poem: Dingzhou huaciou, yanse tianxia bai (decorated porcelain bowls from
Dingzhou have the best white colour under Heaven). ͉䋘ኜҖཡඩ᎑ᑿdߣ৶ͣdཊΈᆋଋᆗዣdɠʈᄫᆞݴdމ
֛ψڀନʕʘၚۜf̙ˢ༰ɓ७ུeኜҖ˷ɓߧٙԷɿd
The present bowl is particularly desirable for its elegant form, fluent
carving and resplendent glaze. A very similar bowl of almost identical މ 0QQFOIFJN ᔚᔛdତᔛɽߵ௹يdഹ5IF 8PSME’T (SFBU
decoration and form, formerly in the Oppenheim Collection and now in $PMMFDUJPOT 0SJFOUBM $FSBNJDTd՜ dྡو f̤ɓЧԷಀഹ
the British Museum, is illustrated in, The World’s Great Collections: Oriental ϋ؇ԯ̈وʕௗှj̈Έߕஔᔛۜྡdܝί
Ceramics, vol.5., pl. 20. Another closely related example, illustrated in ϋ ˜ ˚࠰ಥԳɻשርdשۜ f͵ϞɓኜҖ
Chinese Ceramics in the Idemitsu Collection, Japan, 1987, no. 413, was sold ʿˉʂ߰Էɿdઓ䋘ʫᇳ७ࠬࣸମdᔛ̏ԯ݂௹ي৫dഹ
at Christie’s Hong Kong, 1 December 2009, lot 1863. A hexafoil bowl
of similar form and size, but with lotus carved in a slightly different style, ʕௗନΌණ y ֛ᇉdɪऎd ϋdྡو f"MGSFE
dating to the Jin dynasty, is in the Beijing Palace Museum Collection, $MBSL ˃ɛʿᏖᆗᓈಀܝᔛɓኜҖЧ֛ٙᇉ䋘d䋘ʫڀ७ଫ
illustrated in Zhongguo taoci quanji – Dingyao, Shanghai, 1981, pl. 90. ମd ϋ ˜ ˚ॲߒᘽబˢשርdשۜ f
Compare also to a Ding bowl of similar shape, but carved with different
floral motifs featuring curling foliage, formerly in the Mrs. Alfred Clark
and J.T. Tai collections, sold at Sotheby’s New York, 22 March 2011,
lot 167.
46 ʔɭ { ҂˾ߕኪɓɷϋ