A Fine Chinese Blue and White and Underglaze Red 'Bats and Clouds' Brush Washer, Qing Dynasty, 18th/19th Century

A Fine Chinese Blue and White and Underglaze Red 'Bats and Clouds' Brush Washer, Qing Dynasty, 18th / 19th Century

Expertly potted in a compressed globular form, this fine scholar's water washer stands 3.5 cm high and is decorated in a balanced combination of underglaze cobalt blue and high-temperature copper-red. The exterior features finely painted swirling ruyi-head clouds interspersed with copper-red bats—symbolizing fushou (blessings and longevity)—all beneath a lustrous, clear glaze.

Detailed Analysis & Period Characteristics

The Footrim & Paste: The unglazed, dense biscuit footrim displays a natural, fine-grained texture accompanied by authentic, irregular iron-oxide ("fried-chestnut") oxidation along the high points, indicative of period clay preparation and firing techniques rather than a modern slip cast.

Pigment Behavior: The design utilizes high-temperature underglaze blue and copper-red, showing characteristic organic pooling, soft diffusion at the borders, and subtle iron-spotting rather than the flat uniformity of modern chemical colorants or transfer prints.

The Mark: The recessed base bears an underglaze blue stylized mark, which sits softly beneath the glaze with natural cobalt diffusion at the edges.

The Glaze & Wear: The surface possesses a soft, greasy luster with microscopic glaze irregularities and gentle handling wear appropriate for a genuine antique scholar's object from the Qing dynasty.

Provenance:

Ex-collection of The G. S. May Esquire Private Collection, London.

Note on Base Marking: The underside features a hand-painted underglaze cobalt blue pictorial mark characteristic of non-imperial, private scholar-ware kilns operating during the late 18th to mid-19th century. Rather than an official text reign seal, potters of this era frequently applied abstract symbols or shorthand emblems. Due to the natural fluidity and bleeding of the hand-ground cobalt glaze during kiln firing, the mark allows for two highly plausible period interpretations:A Stylized Lingzhi (Sacred Fungus) Mark: A classic emblem of immortality and longevity frequently used on scholar's desktop items, often rendered rapidly as three distinct rounded forms joined by a central stem. A Celestial Constellation Design: A representation of a star cluster (such as the Sanxing or Three Stars), traditionally linked to literary success and the Daoist deity of examinations, Kui Xing.