A magnificent and very rare white jade peach-form brush washer, Qianlong period (1736-1795)

Lot 1111. A magnificent and very rare white jade peach-form brush washer, Qianlong period (1736-1795); 6½ in. (16.5 cm.) across. Estimate USD 250,000 - USD 350,000. Price realised USD 902,500. © Christie's Image Ltd 2010.

Carved in the form of a large peach borne on a thick gnarled branch bearing clusters of leaves enveloping the sides of the vessel, with a large bat on one end carved atop a cluster of lingzhi, and another smaller bat on the opposite side suspending a beribboned wan emblem from its mouth, the semi-translucent stone of a soft white tone with some areas of pale russet; fitted wood stand.

Provenance: Edward King, New York.
Alan & Simone Hartman Collection.

Literature: R. Kleiner, Chinese Jades from the Collection of Alan and Simone Hartman, Hong Kong, 1996, no. 92.

Exhibited: Christie's, New York, 13-26 March 2001.
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, August 2003-December 2004.

Note: The present brush washer, exceptional for both its impressive size and superbly carved details, is a testament to the skill of the master jade carvers working during the reign of the Qianlong emperor. It would, even at the time, have been of considerable importance, and would no doubt have been made for an individual of high rank.

The imagery found in the design is especially auspicious, with numerous blessings and wishes conveyed for the owner. The bat (fu) and peach (tao) together form the rebus shoutao, or 'May you possess both blessings and longevity', a wish doubled by the addition of the second bat. This wish is further strengthened by the addition of the wan emblem, which together with the bat forms the rebus wanfu, or 'May you have ten thousand blessings.' The lingzhi fungus on which one of the bats is borne is also a pun for ling, or intelligence, perhaps suggesting that the present brush washer was destined for the table of a refined scholar.

Compare another large (15.2 cm. diam.) Qianlong period white jade peach-form brush washer, also carved with two bats, from the Di Portanova Collection, sold in these rooms, 20 October 2000, lot 102.