Lot 1102. A marbled xipi lacquer brush washer, Ming dynasty, early 17th century; 8 1/8 in. (20.6 cm.) diam. Estimate USD 7,000 - USD 9,000. Price realised USD 15,000. © Christie's Image Ltd 2016

The brush washer is of shallow circular form, with a wide mouth and raised lip. The exterior is covered with an abstract marbled design of red, ochre, green, and black lacquers, and the interior is covered in black lacquer, Japanese box. 

Provenance: Nicholas Grindley, London, 1998.
Private collection, New York.

Literature: N. Grindley, Nicholas Grindley, 'June 2010', no. 4.

Note: This brush washer is made of 'marbled' or xipi (rhinoceros hide) lacquer. This technique involved the application in layers of different colors of lacquer over an uneven ground. It is then polished so that the different colors appear in a marbled pattern over the surface of the vessel.

Compare, a cushion shaped circular box and cover made in the same xipi technique, dated 16th-17th century from the Jaehne Collection in the Newark Museum, and illustrated by V. Reynolds and Y. Pei in Chinese Art from the Newark Museum, China House Gallery/China Institute in America, New York, 1980, p. 45, no. 24. Compare, also, another similarly decorated flat marbled lacquer round box, 16th century, illustrated by Sir Harry Garner in Chinese Lacquer, London, 1979, p. 119, pl. 58.