A ROBIN'S EGG GLAZED MELON-FORM BRUSHWASHER, 18TH CENTURY China. Well potted in the form of a melon borne on a short stem issuing thin scrolling vines and veined leaves, brightly covered overall with an opaque turquoise-blue glaze type suffused with a finely mottled purplish-blue.

Provenance: From an old German private collection, assembled before 2007, and thence by descent.
Condition: Good condition with old wear and some firing irregularities, a small chip to the rim with associated old fill, few minor glaze touchups. Note the significantly stronger weathering of the glaze inside the well, confirming the usage as a brush washer over many decades.

Weight: 84.0 g
Dimensions: Length 9.3 cm

The evenly dappled effect of this charming washer, skillfully conceived in the form of a melon completed with scrolling tendrils and leaves, is a mature example of the robin's egg glaze that was pioneered in the Yongzheng period. The Yongzheng Emperor, who initiated many revivals of earlier ceramics techniques, was particularly enamored with the variegated Jun glazes of the Song and Ming dynasties. In order to have the glazes imitated or recreated, he went as far as sending potters from the imperial kilns on study trips to the Jun region in Henan province. Among the many types of glazes derived from these efforts are mottled purple wares such as the flambé type, and mottled turquoise ones such as the 'robins' egg' varieties.

Robin's egg is a bicolor glazing technique whereby the turquoise glaze was blown onto the blue-glazed vessel to produce a delicate stippled effect. It is also known as lujun or 'furnace Jun' in China due to the low temperature of the furnace when firing the glaze.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Remotely related
Auction: Sotheby's London, 16 May 2018, lot 23
Estimate: GBP 15,000 or approx. EUR 19,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A pale celadon-glazed 'melon' brush washer, Qing dynasty, Qianlong period
Expert remark: Compare the related melon form and size (11.4 cm). Note the different glaze.


十八世紀爐鈞釉瓜形筆洗
中國。厚胎瓜形筆洗，一段藤曼牽繞，枝幹上的葉子脈絡清晰，整體覆蓋著明亮的爐鈞釉，細小斑駁的紫藍色。

來源：德國私人舊藏，購於2007年前，保存至今。
品相：品相良好，有磨損和一些燒製瑕疵，邊緣有一個小碎片和相應的填充，輕微的釉面修飾。筆洗內釉料風化明顯，可看出筆洗曾經經常被使用。

重量：84.0 克
尺寸：長9.3 厘米

筆洗成瓜形，施爐鈞釉，構思巧妙，製作精美，是雍正時期爐鈞釉成熟運用的典範。雍正皇帝對早期的陶瓷技術進行了多次復興，特別喜歡宋明時期的雜色鈞釉。爐鈞釉是一種因低溫爐內燒成仿宋鈞釉而得知其名。為了模仿或再現釉色，他甚至從御窯中派出陶工到河南省鈞窯考察。

拍賣結果比較：
形制：稍微相近
拍賣：倫敦蘇富比，2018年5月16日，lot 23
估價：GBP 15,000（相當於今日EUR 19,000）
描述：乾隆時期青白釉瓜形筆洗
專家評論：比較相近的瓜形和尺寸 (11.4 厘米)。請注意不同的釉面。