A BURLWOOD WASHER 17TH CENTURY

naturalistically carved to resemble a floating raft, the wood of a warm, golden-brown tone

incised on the base with an eleven-character inscription in zhuanshu dated Guimao er yue (corresponding to February 1663) and signed Dai Benxiao

The present piece is extremely unusual in its shape and is remarkable for its naturalistic and free carving.  Its design was inspired by the legendary story of an immortal riding on a boat and travelling to the Milky Way, in which his boat is transformed into a floating raft.

The base of the washer is inscribed by Dai Benxiao and dated to February 1663 (Guimao er yue).  The inscription can be translated: If one places a magic brush on this floating raft,
one would roam free on the Milky Way of artistic creation. 

In March of the same year, Dai carved a seal inscribed with the characters Feng qi duo, and with an inscription on the side similar to that on the present piece, illustrated in Changsui Xurong Xianzhen, vol.7, Tokyo, p.20-21. 

Dai Benxiao (1621-1693), zi Wuzhan, a native of Hezhou, Anhui province.  Dai was known as a recluse who lived in the Ying A Mountains.  He was a skilled landscape painter, reflecting his love for his secluded life in the mountains.  His landscape paintings are known for his dry brush techniques, reflecting styles of the Yuan dynasty.  In 1691, he was commissioned by Dan Chen to paint a scroll of pictures entitled 'Beyond Image but in the Mind.'

Compare a similar burlwood washer, dated to the Qing dynasty, in the National Palace Museum, Taiwan, illustrated in The Classic Chinese Stationery, Kyoto, 1993, p. 149.