明十七世紀 竹根雕荷葉式洗

naturalistically carved in the form of a lotus pad with an undulating rim borne on a coiled stem issuing a lotus bloom on the side, the interior of the washer naturalistically detailed with veins and pierced with small apertures to simulate insect holes, a small crab depicted resting atop the pad, the floral veins of the petals rendered with delicate incisions, the bloom with a pod on the interior, the surface patinated to a smooth warm reddish-brown colour

Another closely related bamboo brushwasher, quite probably from the same carver or workshop, is in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, exhibited in Uncanny Ingenuity and Celestial Feats: The Carvings of Ming and Qing Dynasties - Art of Bamboo, Wood and Fruit Stone Carving, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 2009, cat. no. 8. It is signed by the famous bamboo carver Zhu Sanhong and is similarly conceived in the form of a lotus leaf, sharing notable features with the curent lot, including the intricate detailing of the veins and insect holes,