Cleveland Museum of Art

Brush Washer

Date

late 1000s–1127

Medium

porcelaneous stoneware, Ru ware

Culture

China, Henan Province, Baofeng, Qingliangsi, Northern Song dynasty (960-1127)

Department

Chinese Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

Ru ware is the rarest and most celebrated of all Chinese imperial wares. It was made for the late Northern Song court for a very short time and was therefore extremely rare and precious. Simplicity and refined elegance are Ru ware's hallmarks. Its graceful shape, soft luster, and subtle color variation of the glaze interact in perfect unity. Other physical characteristics include an ash-grey body, soft greyblue glaze with a fine crackle, as well as small sesame-seed spur marks on the base. The little black spot in the glaze inside the dish is one of the slight imperfections characteristic of genuine Ru ware.

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