Lot 4152. A very rare Ru-type oval jardiniere, Qianlong four-character sealmark and of the period (1736-1795), 9 1/8 in. (23.2 cm.) wide. Estimate HKD 600,000 - HKD 800,000. Price realised HKD 1,220,000 © Christie's Images Ltd 2012

The jardiniere is of rounded oval form with slightly flared sides, covered inside and out with a waxy blue-grey glaze irregularly crackled, thinning to a darker grey on the inside of the rim. The recessed base with six spur marks is also glazed within the confines of the deeply grooved footrim showing the fine-grained grey ware; stand and box.  

Provenance: Sold at Christie's New York, 2 December 1989, lot 324 .

Note: This rare brush washer was made for the Qianlong emperor in deliberate imitation of Imperial Ru wares produced in Northern Song dynasty. Song Ru wares have captured the imagination of collectors ever since they were first made, but surviving examples from the Northern Song period are very rare. 

Compare a Ru-type washer of this form, but with a four-character Yongzheng seal mark, included in the Min Chiu Society exhibition, Monochrome Ceramics, 1977, Catalogue no. III. An unmarked example is illustrated in the Kempe Collection, Catalogue, no. 202.