A FINE CHINESE IMPERIAL COPPER-RED GLAZED ZHADOU

SIX CHARACTER QIANLONG MARK AND OF THE PERIOD 1736-95

The compressed circular body rising to a wide flared rim, the exterior all coated in a copper-red glaze which darkens at the foot and mouthrim, the interior and base glazed white, all raised on a short straight circular foot, 12.7cm dia.

Provenance: from an important Asian collection.

The colour of this glaze is also known as 'sacrificial red'. According to legend, the Xuande Emperor (r.1426-35) wanted to use a set of bright red ceramics to make offerings to the Sun, and so he instructed the workers at the Jingdezhen kilns accordingly. Despite numerous attempts, they were unable to create the red the Emperor desired, and so, unsatisfied by their work, he threatened to execute the workers. Upon hearing this news, one of the potter's daughters went to the kilns, only to find that her father had been imprisoned for failing to produce the correct colour. In protest, she sacrificed herself by throwing her body into the blazing kiln. When the kiln was opened, the workers were astonished to find that all the ceramics inside were now red, supposedly having been stained by the girl's blood. This is one explanation for the origin of the term 'sacrificial red'.