Provenance:
Compagnie de la Chine et des Indes, inventory no. 22049, acquired in 1975
Condition Report available
€ 9,500
This object can be viewed in our gallery.
This small deep brushwasher with a scalloped edge, is in the form of a hollow lingzhi fungus. It is enamelled on the biscuit in mottled turquoise enamels. The colour is slightly darker where the enamels has pooled in the furrowed sides, giving it a very realistic wood texture. The inside also has turquoise enamel. The three feet on the underside are in the form of fungi sprouting from a branch, which curls up the side of the basin ending in a another cloud shaped lingzhi.
Turquoise monochrome porcelain was very fashionable in Europe in the 18th century. Particularly in France these bright objects were also often mounted in gilt bronze. This brushwasher is very much a scholars object to the Chinese taste, its naturalistic theme combined with the Taoist symbolism of the lingzhi fungus - which is associated with long life and the immortals.
Thank you for enquiring about this artwork. Please enter the form below and we will contact you swiftly.
