Red plum blossom water bowl

Red plum blossom water bowl

This sacrificial red plum blossom water dropper was painted by Zhang Jian, a master of overglaze enamel and gold-leaf technique from Jingdezhen. (Master Zhang Jian once represented Jingdezhen in painting the "Longevity and Fortune Dragon" vase to celebrate President Hu Jintao's birthday.) Sacrificial red is a legendary and extremely difficult-to-fire red glaze. There's a saying in Jingdezhen: "If you want to be poor, fire sacrificial red glaze," referring to its extremely low success rate. Sacrificial red has always existed in a rare, precious, and mysterious way. It belongs to the realm of fine arts, but in China, it also belongs to literature.

A fleeting dream in the mortal world, the setting sun and twilight snow, the soft glow of the sunset, and the light snowflakes falling on the plum blossom branches. The plum tree trunk is old and weathered, its sparse shadows cast askew, and a subtle fragrance wafts through the air.

Teacher Zhang Jian said, "Sacrificial red is also a kind of kiln transformation. Teacher Zhao, look! One side of this sacrificial red is like freshly congealed chicken blood, while the other side is pale and ethereal, with a bluish-gray tinge in the desolation..."

I said, "This is exactly what I like. It seems like fate, or perhaps it's human intervention. It's the changes that make it so beautiful!"

ask:

Is the pink at the edge of this snow plum painted on, or is it translucent?

Teacher Zhang replied:

It's just pure white, with the pinkish gradation at the edges of the plum blossoms coming through a shade of crimson...

The mark, in seal script, bears six characters in three lines during the Qianlong reign of the Great Qing Dynasty. While maintaining a rigorous style, it also possesses a touch of casualness and freedom, conveying a sense of everyday life and a sense of personal expression. The style of the base mark is reminiscent of representative masterpieces from folk kilns of the same period during the Qianlong era.

The antique-style body has a thick and warm glaze, which adds a touch of ancient elegance when placed on a tea table.