A pair of small white-glazed cups, Marks and period of Kangxi | 清康熙 白釉金口小盃一對 《大清康熙年製》款

Sotheby's Hong Kong, 8th April 2011, lot 3028.

香港蘇富比2011年4月8日，編號3028

This charming pair of cups, seemingly simple in form and colour, is a testament to the technical perfection achieved by potters during the Kangxi reign. Deliberately left undecorated except for the gold-foiled mouthrim, the cups evoke the aesthetics of the Song dynasty Dingyao white ware. The successful production of such delicate monochrome wares, a result of refinement of the materials and precision in potting and firing, is a true marvel. 

White Kangxi cups with gold-foiled mounts, such as the present pair, are exceptionally rare, with only a handful of other known examples. See two comparable pairs of Kangxi-marked cups with gold-mounted rims: one in the Shanghai Museum, published in Wang Qingzheng, ed., Kangxi Porcelain Wares from the Shanghai Museum Collection, Hong Kong, 1998, pl. 230; and another pair from the Wang Xing Lou collection, exhibited at the Minneapolis Institute of Art, illustrated in Imperial Perfection. The Palace Porcelain of Three Chinese Emperors: Kangxi, Yongzheng, Qianlong. A Selection from the Wang Xing Lou Collection, Hong Kong, 2004, pl. 62, and recently sold in Hong Kong.

小盃簡形素色，沿口釦金，傚仿北宋定瓷美學，見證康熙年間藝匠巧技。從瓷土、拉坯、燒造，必須一絲不苟，才可製得如此精緻小盃。

飾有金釦口之康熙小酒盃甚稀，見兩對罕例，同署康熙年款：上海博物館藏對盃，收入汪慶正編，《上海博物館藏康熙瓷圖錄》，香港，1998年，圖版230；望星樓舊藏對盃，曾借展明尼阿波利斯美術館，收入《清代康雍乾官窰瓷器：望星樓藏瓷》，香港，2004年，編號62，近在香港易主。