China. The vessel of flattened circular form, the exterior finely molded with mask handles suspending mock rings, framed by recessed bands below an incurved rim and short foot, covered overall with an opaque turquoise glaze densely mottled in bright and dark blue save for the broad unglazed foot rim encircling the countersunk base.

Provenance: From a noted private collection in Geneva, Switzerland, assembled since the 1960s, and thence by descent. An important part of this collection was on permanent loan and exhibited over several decades at the Asia-Africa Museum in Geneva. The base lacquered with an old inventory number, ‘AMA-3081’, and further with two old labels, ‘3081’ and ‘Art Ancien de Chine & Extrême-Orient Genève. 4237/2. K. Lung 1736’
Condition: Good condition with some wear and expected traces of use, the interior with light surface scratches, tiny glaze recesses. One side with a thin, barely visible hairline.

Weight: 170.4 g
Dimensions: Width 10 cm (at the widest points)

As early as the Song dynasty, the Imperial court was fascinated with archaic objects and many wares were produced in imitation of ancient forms. The shape of the present censer, although flattened, is reminiscent of bronze containers known as lian, which were among the ritual implements aimed to present food and drink offerings to the ancestors during the Han dynasty. As such, the present censer may not only be emulating the bronze prototype, but also the ceramic form of the Northern Song dynasty, as exemplified by a Ruyao tripod incense burner from the Qing Court collection, illustrated in Porcelain of the Song Dynasty (I): The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Hong Kong, 1996, p. 2, no. 1.

The ‘Robin’s egg’ glaze represents a significant technical innovation of the Yongzheng period (1723-35) attributable to Tang Ying (1682-1756), the greatest porcelain superintendent in Chinese history. The Yongzheng Emperor, who initiated many revivals of earlier ceramic techniques, was particularly enamored with the variegated Jun glazes of the Song (960-1279) and Ming (1368-1644) dynasties. In order to have the glazes recreated or imitated, Tang Ying sent his trusted assistant from the imperial kilns in Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province, on study trips to the Jun region in Henan province to learn from the local potters and even went as far as having ceramic raw materials mined in the Jun area transported over thousands of kilometers to Jingdezhen. Among the many types of glazes derived from those efforts are mottled purple ones such as the flambé variety, and mottled turquoise ones such as ‘robin’s egg’, which Tang Ying termed Lu Jun or Oven Jun, i.e., a Jun glaze fired in low-temperature ovens instead of high-temperature kilns (see Jingdezhen Institute of Ceramic Archaeology et al, The Cultures of Porcelain Superintendents and Jingdezhen, conference volume, Nanchang, 2011). The ‘robin’s egg’ glaze is mentioned on a stele in Jingdezhen, inscribed by Tang Ying, as one of the major types of ceramics that he succeeded in firing and proposed as suitable for regular delivery to the Imperial court. Its color is described as intermediate between the glazes of the Shiwan kilns of Foshan, Guangdong, and those used by the Yixing kilns in Jiangsu for their zisha tea pots, but having a better and more beautiful flow.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Related
Auction: Bonhams Hong Kong, 24 November 2013, lot 234
Price: HKD 600,000 or approx. EUR 91,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: An archaistic robin’s-egg glazed vase, cong, 18^th century
Expert remark: Compare the related glaze and archaistic design. Note the size (height 14.4 cm).

Auction result comparison:
Type: Related
Auction: Sotheby’s London, 3 November 2021, lot 9
Price: GBP 5,292 or approx. EUR 7,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A 'robin's egg'-glazed 'double-peach' washer, Qing dynasty, 18th/19th century
Expert remark: Compare the related glaze. Note the similar size (length 9.6 cm).



十八世紀爐鈞釉仿古小盆
中國。扁平圓形器皿，外壁中央環紋，兩側饕餮輔首啣環，弧形邊沿，底足未上釉，内凹處有釉，通體施不透明綠松石色爐鈞釉。

來源：瑞士日内瓦私人收藏，建立於上世紀六十年代，保存至今。這個收藏重要的一部分長期在日内瓦亞非博物館展出。底部有收藏編號AMA-3081，以及另外兩個標籤 ‘3081’與 ‘Art Ancien de Chine & Extrême-Orient Genève. 4237/2. K. Lung 1736’ 。
品相：品相良好，有一些磨損和使用痕跡，內部有輕微的劃痕，微小的釉面凹陷。一側有細的、幾乎看不見的裂紋。

重量：170.4 克
尺寸：寬 10 厘米 (最寬處)

早在宋代，朝廷就對古物十分著迷，仿古器物便大量生產。本品如香爐狀，雖呈扁平狀，卻讓人聯想到漢代祭祀器物之一的青銅器皿。因此，本爐不只仿青銅器，亦仿北宋瓷器，如清宮藏一件汝窯鼎香爐，見《故宮博物院藏文物珍品全集∙宋代陶瓷》，卷39，香港，1996，頁2，編號1。

爐鈞釉創於清雍正年間，盛行於雍正、乾隆二朝，歸功於中國歷史上最偉大的瓷器主管唐英（1682-1756 年）。多次復興早期陶瓷技術的雍正皇帝特別喜歡宋朝（960-1279 年）和明朝（1368-1644 年）的雜色鈞釉。 為了重製或仿製釉料，唐英派江西景德鎮御窯親信到河南鈞州學習，向當地陶藝家學習，甚至還製作了陶器。鈞區開採的原材料，千里迢迢運到景德鎮。在這些努力衍生出的眾多類型的釉中，有斑駁的紫色釉料，如窯變釉，以及斑駁的綠松石釉料，如爐鈞釉，因低溫爐內燒成仿宋鈞釉而得其名。釉中含有粉劑，故而釉厚不透明。釉面結晶呈色多種，深淺不一，可呈現之顏色有紅，藍，紫，綠，月白等，並熔於一體。

拍賣結果比較：
形制：相近
拍賣：香港邦瀚斯，2013年11月24日，lot 234
價格：HKD 600,000（相當於今日EUR 91,000）
描述：十八世紀爐鈞釉琮式瓶
專家評論：比較相近的釉面和仿古設計。請注意尺寸(高 14.4 厘米)。

拍賣結果比較：
形制：相近
拍賣：倫敦蘇富比，2021年11月3日 ，lot 9
價格：GBP 5,292（相當於今日EUR 7,000）
描述：清十八/十九世紀爐鈞釉雙桃式水盂
專家評論：比較相近的釉面。請注意相似的尺寸(length 9.6 厘米)。