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.
汝窑弦纹樽式炉
汝窑弦纹樽式炉，通体施天青色釉，釉面莹润，有细碎开片，并装饰数道弦纹。炉直口，底部为三只蹄形足。造型取自汉代铜器。汉代铜三足樽均与三足承盘配套使用。由此推断，此件器物与故宫所藏汝窑三足承盘搭配使用。
汝窑为北宋五大名窑，窑址位于河南省宝丰县，北宋时归汝州管辖，因而称“汝窑”。汝窑为宫廷烧造青瓷，用工极为讲究，瓷胎香灰色，釉天青色，烧造时多用细小支钉，以使支钉与胎体的接触点尽可能最小。这件汝瓷底部有5个支钉痕，俗称芝麻钉痕。
该炉为清宫旧藏。清宫对汝瓷极为珍视，专门定级、配座、指定陈设地点，有的并刻御制诗。与此炉搭配的三足承盘，即刻有乾隆四十三年（1778）御制诗一首。汝瓷作为宋代瓷器之冠，世界范围内藏量极少。已知传世汝窑三足樽式炉仅3件，故宫所藏釉质最佳，另两件分别藏于英国大维德基金会、美国辛辛那提艺术博物馆。
