Lot 11. Important rince-pinceaux en jade céladon pâle, Dynastie Qing, époque Qianlong (1736-1795), 19,2 cm. Estimate 30,000 — 50,000 EUR. Lot sold 319,500 EUR. Photo: Sotheby's

sculpté en forme d'une grande pêche évidée, le pourtour enveloppé de branchages feuillagés chargés de fleurs et de pêches, le bord visité de deux petites chauves-souris aux ailes déployées, la belle pierre d'une couleur uniforme au doux poli 

A WELL-CARVED PALE CELADON JADE WASHER IN THE FORM OF A LARGE PEACH, QING DYNASTY, QIANLONG PERIOD , 7 1/2  in.

Provenance: Christie's London, 21st March 1966, lot 124.
(No. 74 in the collectors' files).

Note: The rounded, slightly incurved sides of this impressive vessel suggest a use as a water pot or a brush washer. The shape of the original jade boulder from which this impressive washer was carved may have influenced the shape of the object into which it was carved. In this case, it has taken the form of a rather large peach, a fruit laden with symbolism as it represents longevity and happiness. Additional auspicious creatures are incorporated into the design: Bats in flight are hovering on the exterior of the washer, flying amidst branches heavily laden with more if smaller peaches, representing additional happiness or blessings. The Chinese word for bat is fu, a homophone for ‘happiness’. 

Compare with two very similar, yet smaller jade peach-shaped bowls from the Hartman Collection, illustrated in Robert Kleiner, Chinese Jades from the Collection of Alan and Simone Hartman, Hong Kong, 1996, no. 92 and 93. Kleiner notes that these washers had a 'massive sculptural quality', a feature that the present jade washer also shares, see Robert Kleiner, ibid., p. 110. 

Sotheby's. Arts d'Asie, Paris, 22 Jun 2017