Page 39 - Sotheby's Asia Week March 2024 Chinee Art

132
A FINE CLAIR-DE-LUNE-GLAZED WASHER, 清康熙 天藍釉鏜鑼洗 《大清康熙年製》款
MARK AND PERIOD OF KANGXI
the base with a six-character mark in underglaze blue 來源：
Diameter 4⅝ in., 11.7 cm 香港私人收藏

PROVENANCE
Hong Kong Private Collection.
Brush washers played a crucial role in the scholar’s studio,
providing the erudite occupant with the means to refresh
his brush and elegantly express his thoughts through
ink. During the Qing dynasty, small porcelain objects for
the scholar’s table, including brush washers, waterpots,
and amphora vases, were introduced in two new glazes,
‘peachbloom’ and ‘clair-de-lune’.
The delicately potted, rounded form of the present washer
is particularly complementary to the luminous clair-de-lune
glaze. Originating from the imperial kilns in Jingdezhen
during the Kangxi Emperor’s reign (1662-1722), this high-
fired lavender-blue glaze, with approximately 1% cobalt
content, represents an ingenious monochrome creation
exclusive to imperial porcelain. While the color remained
popular throughout the Qing dynasty, the gentle and delicate
hue characteristic of the Kangxi period was never replicated
in later ceramics.
Compare one clair-de-lune brush washer of this type in the
National Palace Museum, Taipei (accession no.
中瓷000080N000000000); another three in the Baur
Collection are published in John Ayers, The Baur Collection,
vol. 3, Geneva, 1973, pls A318, A320, and A321; a further
example in the Shanghai Museum, Shanghai, is illustrated in
Wang Qingzheng, Kangxi Porcelain wares from the Shanghai
Museum Collection, Hong Kong, 1998, pl. 218. For other
examples sold at auction, see one previously in the collection
of Paul and Helen Bernat, sold in our Hong Kong rooms,
15th November 1988, lot 63, and again in the same rooms,
2nd May 2005, lot 672; another sold in these rooms, 13th
September 2017, lot 2017.
⊖ $ 50,000-70,000

74 SOTHEBY’S COMPLETE CATALOGUING AVAILABLE AT SOTHEBYS.COM/N11410 75