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Lot Essay
The washer is of a compressed peach-shaped form, supported on three flying-bats feet, flanked by two monkeys gripping to the edge of two sides, the narrow end of the peach is carved with a bat below a shou character suspending a loose ring, while the opposite end is carved with a chime suspending a bat. The stone is well polished, translucent and of an even mutton-fat tone with a few russet inclusions.
This exceptional washer elegantly encapsulates the defining characteristic of Chinese art: the seamless infusion of auspicious symbolism into refined, functional objects. The artistic combination of peaches, bats, monkeys, qing (musical chimes), and shou characters forms an overt visual blessing for longevity, fortune, and enduring prosperity. The present washer belongs to a type of vessel frequently referred to as ‘marriage bowls’, traditionally presented as birthday or wedding gifts to ensure a bright, harmonious future, and their handles typically feature boys or dragons. However, the use of monkeys as handles on the present washer is not only remarkably playful, but also adds a sophisticated layer of rebus tailored for the literati space. In Chinese iconography, the word for monkey (hou) is a direct homophone for marquis, signifying rapid promotion to high official rank. Combined with peaches translates to a prayer for imperial career advancement with the wish for a long, blessed life, making it a particularly resonant emblem for a scholar's desk.
No closely comparable jade washer appears to be recorded in public or private collection. For a white jade washer carved with pair of boy handles of and bat-form feet, see one in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Jadeware (III), Hong Kong, 1995, p. 199, no. 163 (fig. 1). Compare also a white jade washer in the collection of the Palace Museum, Taipei, with boy handles depicted looking upward reminiscent of the monkeys on the present lot, collection no.: guyu000119N (fig. 2). For a white jade marriage bowl carved with a pair of dragon handles suspending loose rings, bats and a musical chime, from the collection of Alan and Simone Hartman, sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 27 November 2007, lot 1539 (fig. 3).
This exceptional washer elegantly encapsulates the defining characteristic of Chinese art: the seamless infusion of auspicious symbolism into refined, functional objects. The artistic combination of peaches, bats, monkeys, qing (musical chimes), and shou characters forms an overt visual blessing for longevity, fortune, and enduring prosperity. The present washer belongs to a type of vessel frequently referred to as ‘marriage bowls’, traditionally presented as birthday or wedding gifts to ensure a bright, harmonious future, and their handles typically feature boys or dragons. However, the use of monkeys as handles on the present washer is not only remarkably playful, but also adds a sophisticated layer of rebus tailored for the literati space. In Chinese iconography, the word for monkey (hou) is a direct homophone for marquis, signifying rapid promotion to high official rank. Combined with peaches translates to a prayer for imperial career advancement with the wish for a long, blessed life, making it a particularly resonant emblem for a scholar's desk.
No closely comparable jade washer appears to be recorded in public or private collection. For a white jade washer carved with pair of boy handles of and bat-form feet, see one in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Jadeware (III), Hong Kong, 1995, p. 199, no. 163 (fig. 1). Compare also a white jade washer in the collection of the Palace Museum, Taipei, with boy handles depicted looking upward reminiscent of the monkeys on the present lot, collection no.: guyu000119N (fig. 2). For a white jade marriage bowl carved with a pair of dragon handles suspending loose rings, bats and a musical chime, from the collection of Alan and Simone Hartman, sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 27 November 2007, lot 1539 (fig. 3).