A RARE FAMILLE-VERTE ' QILIN' BRUSHWASHER KANGXI MARK AND PERIOD |

sturdily potted, supported on a stepped circular base rising to gently flaring, shallow sides, brightly enameled to the center with a fierce qilin glancing over one shoulder, striding through a mountainous landscape, the interior sides with 'Buddhist Emblems' reserved in cartouches on alternating diaper grounds, the exterior freely painted with a continuous landscape with a lone scholar aboard a fishing boat, a small hut nestled among hills, and a flock of birds flying over distant mountain peaks, the base partially unglazed with a central recessed circle glazed white and the six-character mark in underglaze blue

The washer is in overall good condition with only very mild expected wear and a small frit to the foot (length approx. 5 mm).
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

The present piece belongs to a very rare group of Kangxi period washers, all of similar size, finely painted with auspicious mythological creatures and inscribed with imperial reign marks. Only two other examples nearly identical to the present washer are known, one from the J.M. Hu Collection, also inscribed with a six-character Kangxi reign mark, sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 30th May 2006, lot 1426, and the other, with an apocryphal Chenghua mark was sold in these rooms, 13th September 2016, lot 246. A Kangxi-marked famille-verte-decorated washer of the same form, also from the J.M. Hu Collection, but decorated with a carp emerging from waves was sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 28th November 2005, lot 1374. A variant to the form, a lobed famille-verte green-ground example, from the E. T. Chow Collection, decorated with a dragon and carp emerging from waves, was sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 11th April 2008, lot 3021. The thickly-potted form is more commonly found in blue and white brushwashers of the period, such as a Kangxi mark and period example painted with a dragon illustrated in Kangxi Porcelain Wares from the Shanghai Museum Collection, Hong Kong, 1998, pl. 15.