A superb Junyao purple-splashed tripod incense burner, Northern Song - Jin dynasty | 北宋至金 鈞窰天藍釉玫瑰紫斑三足爐

Eskenazi Ltd, London, no. C3755.

The Ten-Views Lingbi Rock Retreat Collection, coll. no. EK314.

埃斯卡納齊，倫敦，編號 C3755

十面靈璧山居收藏，編號 EK314

Jane Sze, The Rainbow Aloft: Jun Ware, Hong Kong, 2019, pl. 8.

Rose Kerr, Song Dynasty Ceramics, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 2020, pl. 26.

Jane Sze, 'Some Forms and Uses of Jun Wares', Arts of Asia, November-December 2020, fig. 13.

Rose Kerr, Dazzling Official Jun Wares: From Museums and Collections Around the World, London, 2021, pl. 56.

施君玉，《The Rainbow Aloft: Jun Ware》，香港，2019年，圖版8

柯玫瑰，《宋瓷》，維多利亞和阿爾伯特博物館，倫敦，2020年，圖版26

施君玉, <Some Forms and Uses of Jun Wares>，《亞洲藝術》，2020年11/12月，圖13

柯玫瑰，《Dazzling Official Jun Wares: From Museums and Collections Around the World》，倫敦，2021年，圖版56

Song: Chinese Ceramics, 10th to 13th Century, Eskenazi, New York, 2007, cat. no. 9.

《Song: Chinese Ceramics, 10th to 13th Century》，埃斯卡納齊，紐約，2007年，編號9

Covered by a thick layer of glaze in turquoise blue, with luscious purple and lavender splashes, the present censer yields the remarkable beauty of Jun ware. Junyao, produced in Juntai, Yu County of Henan province, is celebrated for its exceptional glaze that ranges from milky blue to radiant purple. Starting from the early 12th century, potters pioneered the technique of applying splashes of deep purplish-red derived from copper onto the glaze before firing, creating patches of purple and lavender against a backdrop of soft blue tones, notable for their luminosity and opalescence.

During the Song period, the use of incense gained significant popularity, extending from religious and ceremonial practices to secular celebrations, an interest that, naturally, increased the demand for censers. Concurrently, antiquarianism was thriving, sparking keen interest in the collecting and studying of ancient bronzes. Influenced by these dual trends, censers modelled after li tripods of the Bronze Age emerged as one of the favoured censer forms. 

A very similar incense burner is illustrated in Jane Sze, The Rainbow Aloft: Jun Ware, Hong Kong, 2020, pl. 8; another in John Ayers, The Baur Collection Geneva. Chinese Ceramics, Geneva, 1968-74, vol. 1, pl. A 37; a smaller related tripod in the Palace Museum, Beijing, is published in Junci yaji. Gugong Bowuyuan zhencang ji chutu junyao ciqi huicui / Selection of Jun Ware. The Palace Museum’s Collection and Archaeological Excavation, Beijing, 2013, pl. 29. Compare also the piece from the Muwen Tang collection, included in the exhibition Song Ceramics from the Kwan Collection, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1994, cat. no. 42, and sold in our London rooms, 12th November 2003, lot 49; and another example, sold in our New York rooms, 18th March 2008, lot 90.

本三足爐天藍釉厚潤瑰麗，紫斑潑灑其上，為原有鈞釉更添一抹豔麗，惹人心往神馳。鈞台窰乃鈞窰燒造中心，古屬鈞州，今位於河南省禹縣，因其藍釉紫斑獨具一格而聞名於世。十二世紀伊始，工匠發前人之未發，於瓷坯上施含銅色料，入窰以還原氣氛燒就，可發紫紅，以筆潑繪，故成斑斕，釉光瑩瑩，盡顯造化之繽。

宋人好香，或鬼神祭祀，或節日慶典，故香爐之需劇增。與此同時，金石學方興未艾，尚古好古風氣盛行，文人士大夫廣集古青銅器，潛精積思，以校正文獻、經禮 。此器型取材自高古青銅鬲，筆觸揮灑自如，見書法之風，深受其時文人貴胄所喜。

相似一例收錄於施君玉《The Rainbow Aloft: Jun ware》，香港，2020年，圖版8；另一例出自日內瓦鮑氏收藏，圖載於John Ayers，《The Baur Collection, Geneva. Chinese Ceramics》，卷1，日內瓦，1968年，編號A37；北京故宮博物院收藏一例，尺寸較小，圖見於《鈞窰雅集：故宮博物院珍藏及出土鈞窰瓷器薈萃》，北京，2013年，圖版29；另一例出自沐文堂收藏，曾展於《關氏所藏宋代陶瓷》，香港藝術館，香港，1994年，編號42，後易手於倫敦蘇富比，2003年11月12日，編號49；再有一例售於紐約蘇富比，2008年3月18日，編號90。