Zun-Shaped Censer with String Patterns Produced by the Ru Kiln

This zun-shaped censer, produced by the Ru Kiln, is coated with lustrous azure glaze and decorated with several string patterns, with tiny cracks. Modeled after the bronze ware of the Han Dynasty, the censer has a straight mouth and three hoof-shaped legs. Since the tripod bronze zun (wine vessel) was often used in tandem with a tripod plate in the Han Dynasty, it has been conjectured that this censer was used with the tripod zun plate produced by the Ru Kiln, which is also collected in the Palace Museum.

The Ru Kiln, located in Baofeng County, Henan Province, was one of the five most famous kilns in the Northern Song Dynasty. Back then, it was under the jurisdiction of Ru Prefecture, hence its name.

The kiln was responsible for producing celadon ware for the royal court. Its products were admired for their exquisite craftsmanship, distinctive incense ash-colored porcelain bodies, and azure glaze. When fired in the kiln, they were supported by several tiny nails. On the bottom of this censer are five small punctures left by the nails, which are called "sesame nail traces".

The censer was once held by the Qing court. The Qing rulers cherished porcelain wares from the Ru Kiln very much, not only rating them and adding supporting stands but also designating a special location to display them, with some engraved with poems by emperors. The tripod plate corresponding to this censer features a poem written by Emperor Qianlong in 1778.

Porcelain wares produced by the Ru Kiln are acclaimed as the "best of the Song-dynasty porcelains", with only a few surviving to this day around the world. So far, only three tripod zun-shaped censers from the Ru Kiln have been preserved to this day, of which the one collected in the Palace Museum is best glazed. The other two are held by the Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art in Britain and the Cincinnati Art Museum in the United States, respectively.

汝窯弦紋樽式爐

汝窯弦紋樽式爐，通體施天青色釉，釉面瑩潤，有細碎開片，并裝飾數道弦紋。爐直口，底部為三只蹄形足。造型取自漢代銅器。漢代銅三足樽均與三足承盤配套使用。由此推斷，此件器物與故宮所藏汝窯三足承盤搭配使用。

汝窯為北宋五大名窯，窯址位于河南省寶豐縣，北宋時歸汝州管轄，因而稱“汝窯”。汝窯為宮廷燒造青瓷，用工極為講究，瓷胎香灰色，釉天青色，燒造時多用細小支釘，以使支釘與胎體的接觸點盡可能最小。這件汝瓷底部有5個支釘痕，俗稱芝麻釘痕。

該爐為清宮舊藏。清宮對汝瓷極為珍視，專門定級、配座、指定陳設地點，有的并刻御制詩。與此爐搭配的三足承盤，即刻有乾隆四十三年（1778）御制詩一首。汝瓷作為宋代瓷器之冠，世界范圍內藏量極少。已知傳世汝窯三足樽式爐僅3件，故宮所藏釉質最佳，另兩件分別藏于英國大維德基金會、美國辛辛那提藝術博物館。