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Lot Essay
Two features set this bottle apart from the norm: the extremely white color of the jade, flawless although with some internal flecking visible with transmitted light, and the extraordinary integrity of the ground plain, as flat and even as a mirror. The carving suggests top-quality Suzhou work, although not of the Zhiting School, but of the Zigang legacy, which found its technical peak in small plaques and other objects of the early Qing-dynasty.
The Two Immortals of Harmony and Unity (Hehe erxian) were believed to preside over harmonious marriages, and are usually depicted carrying a lotus (he) and a box (he), both puns on their names. The Hehe erxian have a confused iconography, often becoming mixed up with the legend of Han Shan and Shi De, two famous Tang-dynasty monks (see E. Werner, A Dictionary of Chinese Mythology, p. 158), who are typically shown carrying a fan and broom respectively, and with wide grins on their faces.
The Two Immortals of Harmony and Unity (Hehe erxian) were believed to preside over harmonious marriages, and are usually depicted carrying a lotus (he) and a box (he), both puns on their names. The Hehe erxian have a confused iconography, often becoming mixed up with the legend of Han Shan and Shi De, two famous Tang-dynasty monks (see E. Werner, A Dictionary of Chinese Mythology, p. 158), who are typically shown carrying a fan and broom respectively, and with wide grins on their faces.