AN UNDERGLAZE-BLUE, COPPER-RED, AND CELADON-GLAZED 'LANDSCAPE' BRUSHPOT, KANGXI MARK AND PERIOD

The potter’s ability to successfully fire underglaze blue, copper red and celadon on this brushpot is an exceptional achievement. The design was carved and incised into the body which served both an aesthetic and technical purpose to prevent the pigments from mixing into each other during firing. Copper red was notoriously difficult to control, thus the addition of celadon glaze adds to the complexity of the firing and the rarity of vessels decorated in this palette.

Related brushpots, also inscribed with Kangxi reign marks and of the period, include one in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated in Gugong cangci/ Porcelain of the National Palace Museum: Enameled Ware of the Qing Dynasty (Book I), Hong Kong, 1969, pl. 1, where the decoration is referred to as ‘underglaze three-colour’, p. 32; one in the Shanghai Museum, included in Kangxi Porcelain Wares from the Shanghai Museum Collection, Hong Kong, 1998, pl. 87; and two sold in our London rooms, the first, 20th April 1971, lot 64, and the second, 27th July 1971, lot 132.

本筆筒集青花、釉裏紅及青釉於一身，成就卓著，於筒身刻劃紋飾，既為美觀，亦可避免窰燒時釉藥流淌混合。銅紅難於控制，同器並施青釉，窰燒難度更高，更見本品珍稀。

比較數相類筆筒例，亦署康熙年款，其一台北國立故宮博物院收藏，圖載於《故宮藏瓷 •清彩瓷（一）》，香港，1969年，圖版1，該書稱之為釉裏三色器，頁32；上海博物館藏另一例，《上海博物館藏康熙瓷圖錄 》，香港，1998年，圖版87；另外兩例售於倫敦蘇富比，1971年4月20日，編號64及1971年7月27日，編號132。