Delicately potted with a gently lobed, foliate rim, the shallow washer is covered in a thick, translucent bluish-green glaze characteristic of Longquan guan-type wares. The glaze pools attractively in the lobes, showing a soft, lustrous surface suffused with a fine crackle. The unglazed foot ring reveals the pale grey stoneware body beneath, typical of Southern kiln production.
A Longquan ‘Beishoku’ Guan-type foliated brush washer (Southern Song–Yuan Dynasty, 13th–14th century )
Description
Dimensions: 11.5cm diameter
Provenance:
A private South-East Asian collection, acquired om 23 February 1976
A private American collection
Delicately potted with a gently lobed, foliate rim, the shallow washer is covered in a thick, translucent bluish-green glaze characteristic of Longquan guan-type wares. The glaze pools attractively in the lobes, showing a soft, lustrous surface suffused with a fine crackle. The unglazed foot ring reveals the pale grey stoneware body beneath, typical of Southern kiln production.
Brush washers of this form were favoured by scholars for their restrained elegance and subtle play of colour and texture. Beishoku wares—so termed in Japan, where such Longquan celadons were highly esteemed from the Muromachi period onward—were prized for their quiet refinement and their association with the cultured pursuits of calligraphy, poetry, and the tea ceremony.
