A finely carved white jade brush washer, Qing dynasty, Qianlong period (1736-1795)

Lot 281. A finely carved white jade brush washer, Qing dynasty, Qianlong period (1736-1795). B. 12,5 cm. Estimate 30.000/50.000 €. Lot sold 140.000 €. Courtesy Nagel

carved in the form of a peach with a raised rim pinched to form a rounded pouring lip, decorated with a simulated dangling pendant comprising of a cloud-shaped hook flanked by a pair of archaistic bat wing brackets, attached to a chime-shaped pendant and a beribboned 'xi' (happiness) character suspended across the mouth of the vessel, all set between a pair of stylised lion-head handles, the stone of translucent white tone with small areas of russet inclusions. Good condition.

Provenance: Property from a Swiss private collection.

Note: A similar washer with 'fu qing shou' (happiness, blessings and long life) design, in the Tianjin City Art Museum, is published in Tianjin Shi Yishu Bowuguan cang yu, Hong Kong, 1993, pls. 204 and 205, with the bat (fu) symbolizing happiness, the musical stone (qing) blessings, and the peach long life; another piece of similar design was sold, 27 Apr 1999, Lot 375. Cf. a related washer in the Palace Museum, Beijing, in Zhongguo yuqi quanji, vol. 6, Shijiazhuang, 1993, pl. 318.