The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of January 25, 2020

Brush Washer

late 1000s-1127

China, Henan Province, Baofeng, Qingliangsi, Northern Song dynasty

(960-1127)

Porcelaneous stoneware, Ru ware

Diameter: 12.8 cm (5 1/16 in.); Overall: 3.8 cm (1 1/2 in.)

John L. Severance Fund 1957.40

Location

238 Chinese Ceramics

Description

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.

Provenance
Ex. Collection: Men-chu Wang. Seller's No. 18
Citations
The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 843 archive.org
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 256 archive.org
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 256 archive.org
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 338 archive.org
Giuffrida, Noelle. Separating Sheep from Goats: Sherman E. Lee and Chinese Art Collecting in Postwar America. Oakland, California: University of California Press, 2018. Reproduced: p. 123, fig. 70
Exhibition history

Exhibition history: The World of Ceramics - Masterpieces from The Cleveland Museum of Art. CMA 6/30-9/5/1982. Catalogue edited by Jennifer Neils, essay by Sherman E. Lee (CMA, 1982) no. 106.

The Cleveland Museum of Art (06/28/2009 - 08/30/2009): "Streams and Mountains Without End: Asian Art and the Legacy of Sherman E. Lee at the Cleveland Museum of Art"

Honoring Sherman Lee. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (June 28-August 30, 2009).

Source URL: https://cmaweb23-bbn-2.clevelandart.org/art/1957.40