Lot 106Y. A stained ivory 'lingzhi' brushwasher, Qianlong period (1736-1795). Estimate £5,000 - 8,000 (€6,500 - 10,000). Unsold. Photo: Bonhams.

Finely carved in the form of a shallow section of a large lingzhi fungus with two cloudlike swirls, issuing further lingzhi and green leafy tendrils that curl into the interior, naturalistically carved with two crawling beetles and a delicate orchid. 19cm (7 1/2in) wide

Provenance: a European private collection, acquired between 1960-70, and thence by descent 

Note: Compare with a related stained ivory brush washer in the Palace Museum, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Small Refined Articles of the Study, Shenzhen, 2009, p.128, no.99. Compare another one also in the Palace Museum, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Bamboo, Wood, Ivory and Rhinoceros Horn Carvings, Hong Kong, 2002, p.202, no.166.

Bonhams. AUCTION 23237: FINE CHINESE ART, LONDON, NEW BOND STREET