KANGXI SIX-CHARACTER MARK IN UNDERGLAZE BLUE AND OF THE PERIOD (1662-1722)

The present washer belongs to a group of vessels covered in peachbloom glaze, often referred to as ba da ma or “The Eight Great Numbers”, made for the scholar’s desk during the Kangxi period. Examples from this group include washers, water pots, seal paste boxes and vases. A set of eight peachbloom-glazed vessels of various shapes in The Metropolitan Museum of Art is illustrated by S. Valenstein, A Handbook of Chinese Ceramics, New York, 1989, p. 237.