A GE-TYPE SOFT-PASTE WASHER, QIANLONG MARK AND PERIOD
China, 1736-1795. Finely potted with rounded sides rising from a tapered foot to an incurved mouth encircled by a key-fret decorated rim, the exterior molded with lotus blossoms and foliage bordered by registers of archaistic scroll, covered overall with a thick ivory-white glaze suffused with an irregular network of dark and transparent crackle. The countersunk base impressed with a six-character seal mark da Qing Qianlong nianzhi and of the period.


Provenance:
From the estate of Stuart and Phyllis Moldaw. The collection featured a comprehensive range of early Chinese porcelain as well as a noted group of Buccelatti and Puiforcat silver. Stuart G. Moldaw (1927-2008) was a retail pioneer and billionaire who founded Ross Stores. He was also a generous philanthropist who served on the boards of several nonprofit agencies, including the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art,. President Bill Clinton appointed him as a public delegate to the U.S. Mission at the United Nations in 1993 and chairman of the White House Commission on Presidential Scholars in 1996.

Condition:
Good condition with minor wear and firing irregularities, including glaze recesses, pitting and firing cracks. Few minor shallow chips to edges, occasional light scratches, few tiny hairlines to rim (probably inherent to firing).

Weight: 982.7 g
Dimensions: Diameter 23 cm


This rare brushwasher
with a crackle-type glaze of a faint ivory tone stands as a refined example of Qianlong period archaism. Porcelains of this type, made in imitation of imperial Ding wares from the Song dynasty and clearly influenced by earlier bronze vessels, were prized by the Qianlong Emperor.


Expert’s note:
'Soft-paste' porcelain has the addition of a powdered white clay to the porcelain body, which is called hua shi (slippery stone). This results in a lightweight ware that can be crisply molded and incised with intricate designs. It was significantly more expensive to produce than a standard kaolin porcelain body.


Auction result comparison:

Type: Near-identical
Auction: Sotheby’s, Hong Kong, 7 April 2010, lot 1923
Price: HKD 200,000 or approx.
EUR 33,500
converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A ge-type soft-paste washer, seal mark and period of Qianlong
Expert remark: The two washers are nearly identical in form and decoration, and a comparison of the marks also shows a nearly identical seal, with possibly the same mold used for the seal impression. The glaze is slightly more gray than on the present lot and the crackle includes golden threads.




乾隆款及年代仿哥窯纏枝蓮紋筆洗


中國，1736-1795 年。 製作精美，唇沿，圓腹，圈足。洗上緣一周回紋，外壁飾纏枝蓮紋，通體施厚厚的象牙白釉，釉色泛著淡淡的青色，不規則開片。圈足内刻有“大清乾隆年製”六字篆書款。


來源：
來自 Stuart 和 Phyllis Moldaw 的收藏，該收藏包括早期中國瓷器以及一組著名的 Buccelatti 和 Puiforcat 銀器。 Stuart G. Moldaw（1927-2008年）是一位零售業先驅和億萬富翁，他創立了 Ross Stores。 他還是一位慷慨的慈善家，曾在多個非營利機構的董事會任職，其中包括舊金山現代藝術博物館。 比爾·克林頓總統於 1993 年任命他為美國駐聯合國代表團的公共代表，並於 1996 年任命他為白宮總統學者委員會主席。
品相：
狀況良好，有輕微磨損、製造不規則、釉面凹陷、凹坑和燒製裂紋，邊緣有輕微的淺缺口，局部有輕微劃痕，邊緣有輕微細紋。

重量：982.7 克
尺寸：直徑 23 厘米


拍賣比較：

形制：幾乎相同
拍賣：香港蘇富比，2010年4月7日，lot 1923
價錢：HKD 200,000（相當今日
EUR 33,500
）
描述：乾隆款及年代仿哥窯筆洗
專家註釋：比較兩件外形相同的筆洗和裝飾，相似的款和印。釉色較本拍品略顯灰白，裂紋中含有金絲。