A WHITE AND GREY JADE 'LOTUS AND BIRD' WASHER QING DYNASTY, QIANLONG PERIOD

worked as a furled lotus leaf borne on a stem tied with a string on the underside to other curled stems issuing leaves and a blooming lotus flower, the deep rounded sides detailed to the exterior with finely rendered veins dividing into two streaks just below the rim, two birds and a small crab resting on the edge skilfully carved out of the grey inclusions of the stone, the well-polished jade highlighted with russet patches, wood stand

Collection of Admiral Sotirios and Elsa Yannopoulos.
Ralph Chait, New York.
Collection of Maude Wetzel.
Ashkenazie & Co., San Francisco, 1983.
Dr. Leonard and Mrs. Ann Marsak Collection.
Christie's New York, 19th/20th September 2013, lot 1739.

Magic Art and Order - Jade in Chinese Culture, Palm Springs Desert Museum, 1990, cat. no. 73.

The washer is in overall very good condition with only occasional typical minute nicks to the extremities including one leg of the crab as well as some small areas that have been polished down to conceal insignificant nicks.
"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 brushwasher is an exceptional example of the level of carving achieved by craftsmen in the Qianlong period. From the exquisitely detailed veins of the lotus leaf and modelling of the magpies, to the fluid naturalistic form of the leaf, the carving has been expertly positioned and composed within the pebble to ensure minimal wastage and the clever incorporation of the black portion of the stone to highlight the birds and crab.

Lotus-leaf brushwashers and waterdroppers were popular from the Ming dynasty, and were produced in various materials including porcelain, agate, bronze and jade. Such vessels are an example of the ideal natural world that was miniaturised and brought into the scholar's studio. These ideal representations of nature, which encompassed a range of objects including boulder carvings, brushpots and brushwashers, proved a means of inspiration and escape for the official who was caught in the day-to-day duties of officialdom. Such scenes were also imbued with auspicious meaning, and the motif of two birds and a crab perched on a lotus leaf symbolises the wish for happiness and harmony in marriage.

Brushwashers of lotus-leaf form are more commonly known in smaller size: a white jade example, supported on budding lotus flower stems, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, is published in Chinese Jades throughout the Ages, vol. 12, Hong Kong, 1997, pl. 82; another delicately carved as one curling leaf with a curling stem rising from the centre, in the Baur Collection, is illustrated in Pierre-F. Scheeberger, The Baur Collection. Geneva. Chinese Jades and Other Hardstones, Geneva, 1976, pl. B16; and a brushwasher in the form of three lotus leaves and a pod, in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, is included in Ming Wilson, Chinese Jades, London, 2004, pl. 63.

Compare also a small dark green agate brushwasher carved in the shape of a lotus leaf and a frog perched on the rim, in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, illustrated in James C.S. Lin, The Immortal Stone. Chinese Jades from the Neolithic Period to the Twentieth Century, Cambridge, 2009, p. 136 (bottom centre).