three-legged jar furnace support. Image source: Palace Museum
Because of its rarity. Ru Ci Ya Ji, published by the Palace Museum in September, 215, made statistics on the existing Ru kiln wares according to the published data. The conclusion is that the number of complete utensils is less than 1, and the types of utensils are mostly circular washing, dish and saucer. Other types of utensils include bottles, narcissus pots, flower mouths and oval washing, lamp holders, 2 bottles (excluding one from Cincinnati Museum in the United States). Some complete pieces handed down from ancient times have been burned, which have lost their original color and luster, and have different degrees of stains, so fine products are especially rare.
Ru kiln pale azure glaze bowl. Image source: Palace Museum
Because of its mystery. The initial cause of Ru Ci's firing is a dream of Song Huizong, and its color is also described by the poem "Clouds break through after rain". What is "Clouds break through the sky"? Thousands of people have thousands of meanings, "which can only be understood, but not expressed." Even in today's advanced communication and technical means, high-definition images can transmit nothing more than superficial. Only when you see it with your own eyes can you really feel the beauty of its "azure", "jade" and "ice crack", and all the words are pale.
Ru kiln pale azure glaze plate. Image source: Palace Museum
Because of its nobility. Since its birth, Ru kiln has been dedicated to the court. In the Southern Song Dynasty, Qingbo Magazine recorded that it was "forbidden to burn in Ruyao Palace ..... only for the imperial collection and return, and it was allowed to be sold, which was especially rare in the near future". Some of the handed down implements are engraved with inscriptions at the bottom, indicating that they were used by the court in the Song Dynasty, and 22 objects were selected as fine works and engraved with the imperial poems of Emperor Qianlong. In the "Twelve Beauty Pictures"-"Bo Gu Meditation" in the old collection of the Qing Palace in the Palace Museum, a narcissus basin of Ru kiln was placed in an eye-catching position on the antique shelf with an exquisite shelf, which shows that even in the court, Ru kiln is regarded as a rare thing for appreciation.
Ruyao Azure Glazed Narcissus Basin, collected in the National Palace Museum in Taipei.
because it cannot be reproduced. Due to the rare raw materials, secret formula, high cost, continuous wars and other reasons, the burning time of Ru kiln is very short. Some scholars speculate that it will take about 2 to 4 years, and then it will be forced to stop burning, and the existing Ru kiln utensils have become a swan song. Since the Ming and Qing dynasties, Ru kiln has been imitated as a model of porcelain. According to archaeological excavations, imitation burning began in Xuande period of Ming Dynasty, and flourished in Yong and Gan periods of Qing Dynasty. Most of these imitation burning objects were left with the bottom money. In the Ming dynasty, even if the emperor personally ordered the imperial kiln factory to do its best to imitate it, although it was similar to a certain extent, it could not be copied because of its subtle and light charm. By the Qing Dynasty, imitation burning only imitated the glazed surface of Ru kiln, and the shape of the ware was mainly the favorite style at that time, which was even more far-reaching in form and spirit.
Ru kiln azure glaze paper hammer bottle, collected in the National Palace Museum in Taipei.
because of its heavy collection institutions. At present, the main institutions that collect Ru kilns are heavyweight museums, such as the Palace Museum (2 pieces, the latter part of which was allocated to the National Museum), the National Palace Museum in Taipei (21 pieces), the David Foundation in London (12 pieces), the Shanghai Museum (9 pieces), the British Museum (5 pieces), and the Rus Museum in Gothenburg, Sweden (2 pieces). Other important collection institutions, such as Victoria and Albert Museum in Britain, Ashmoline Museum in Oxford University in Britain, St. Louis Art Museum in the United States, Philadelphia Art Museum in the United States, Cleveland Art Museum in Ohio in the United States, Boston Art Museum in the United States, Toyo Ceramic Art Museum in Osaka, Japan, Meiyintang in Switzerland, Guanfu Museum, Tianjin Museum, Jilin Provincial Museum and Hong Kong Art Museum, all have only one collection. Several of the above collections were collected by private collectors or acquired and held by auction, and finally donated to collection institutions for different reasons.
The lotus-shaped warm bowl with azure glaze in Ruyao is in the National Palace Museum in Taipei.
because of its difficult access. Most of the existing Ru kiln artifacts are hidden in the above-mentioned major collection institutions and displayed as important exhibits, so it is impossible to sell or circulate them again. Under the existing conditions, the opportunity to obtain Song Ruyao porcelain is only through auction, and it will be auctioned with institutions and individual collectors from all over the world. In October, 217, a 13cm-diameter azure glaze wash of Ruyao in the Northern Song Dynasty collected by Lecongtang was auctioned at Sotheby's in Hong Kong for HK$ 294.3 million, and the buyer was anonymous, which set a new record for the auction of China porcelain with 281.24 million yuan in Ming Chenghua Doucai Jigang Cup.