AN EXQUISITE PEACH-SHAPED GUAN-TYPE BRUSH WASHER SEAL MARK AND PERIOD OF QIANLONG

the asymetrical shallow bowl forming the outline of a peach with unevenly furled sides, the handle formed from a gnarled tree branch set with a plump peach, a lingzhi and curled leaves, all beneath an opaque milky blue-green glaze with faint crackles, thinning at the edges of the leaves and branches to reveal a dark body, fired on four spurs revealing the porcelain body beneath, the underside modelled with a shallow groove characteristic of peaches, marked on the base with a six-character reign mark in underglaze blue, wood stand

Collection of Edward T. Chow.
Collection of Mr. and Mrs. J.M. Hu.
Sotheby's New York, 4th June 1985, lot 59.
Christie's Hong Kong, 28th April 1996, lot 58.

Helen D. Ling and E.T. Chow, Collection of Chinese Ceramics from the Pavilion of Ephemeral Attainment, Hong Kong, 1950, vol. IV, no. 175.
Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, London, 1994-2010, vol. 4, no. 1800.

The overall condition is excellent. The actual colour is consistent with the catalogue illustration.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

This brush washer closely follows a Yongzheng prototype and is likely to have been made early in the Qianlong period. This is suggested also by the fact that on this piece the potters deliberately chose and varied the types of clay they used, so as to make the applied branch and leaves appear more naturalistic. A closely related, but somewhat larger Yongzheng washer in the Palace Museum, Beijing, from the Qing Court collection, is illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Monochrome Porcelain, Hong Kong, 1999, pl. 207, together with a somewhat different smaller Qianlong version, for which no dark clay was used, pl. 217, and a crackle-glazed version with a neifu mark incised on the base, probably after firing, pl. 232, both of which would seem to postdate the present example.