Ru Ware: The Rarest Treasure of Northern Song Chinese Ceramics
Among the great legacies of Chinese ceramics, Ru ware stands alone in its scarcity, elegance, and cultural prestige. Produced only during the Northern Song dynasty (c. 1086–1125) for a brief span of perhaps two decades, Ru ware was the official porcelain of the imperial court and today is regarded as one of the most extremely rare and treasured forms of Chinese art.
A Song Dynasty Marvel
Ru ware (also known as Ru kilns), named after the kilns in Ruzhou, Henan Province, was created under imperial patronage and crafted to meet the high aesthetic demands of Emperor Huizong and his court. Its distinctive celadon glaze—subtle, pale blue-green and often likened to “the colour of the sky after rain”—has made Ru ware an enduring symbol of Song dynasty refinement.
Only a handful of authentic Ru pieces survived the tumult of the 12th century when the Song court fell, which makes fewer than 100 complete examples known worldwide today.
Brush Washers: Small Objects, Monumental Value
Among the various forms made in Ru ware—dishes, cups, and small vessels—brush washers have become icons of their rarity and beauty. These simple yet profound objects, originally used by court scholars and artists to clean brushes, embody both artistic restraint and technical mastery.
Their scarcity has propelled them into the stratosphere of the art market. At Sotheby’s in Hong Kong in 2017, a Northern Song Ru ware brush washer set a new world auction record for Chinese ceramics, selling for HK$294.3 million (nearly US$38 million).
These extraordinary prices underline not just the rarity of Ru ware, but also its deep cultural resonance as a touchstone of Chinese ceramic history and scholarly taste.
Ru Ware in World Collections
Due to their extreme rarity, surviving Ru ceramics are almost exclusively housed in major museum collections and prestigious private holdings.
Among the foremost repositories are:
The Palace Museum in Taipei, with one of the largest collections of Ru ware outside mainland China, including brush washers and dishes.
The Percival David Collection in London (now largely at the British Museum), featuring important Song dynasty ceramics and some rare Ru ware examples once gathered by Sir Percival David, one of the 20th century’s greatest collectors of Chinese porcelain.
The Palace Museum in Beijing and other global institutions also hold key pieces, although individual works rarely travel due to their fragility and value.
The Percival David Foundation played a pivotal role in promoting Chinese ceramics in the West, assembling works that continue to inspire scholars and the public alike.
Why Ru Ware Matters in Chinese Art
In the context of Chinese ceramics, Ru ware occupies a unique place. Its refined colour, subtle crackle, and delicate balance of form and glaze reflect the Song dynasty’s aesthetic ideals of understatement, harmony, and naturalism. These qualities set Ru ware apart even from other celebrated kilns of the period, such as Guan, Ge, Jun, and Ding.
Unlike many later imitations, no subsequent kiln in Chinese history truly replicated the glowing, pale celadon and serene presence of original Ru ware. This has cemented its reputation among scholars and collectors as a pinnacle of ceramic artistry—an object whose beauty is inseparable from its extreme historical scarcity.