A fine clair-de-lune-glazed washer, Mark and period of Kangxi | 清康熙 天藍釉鏜鑼洗 《大清康熙年製》款

Hong Kong Private Collection.

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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.