QIANLONG PERIOD (1736-1795)

Details

AN UNUSUAL WHITE JADE FLOWER-FORM DOUBLE BRUSH WASHER
QIANLONG PERIOD (1736-1795)
Finely carved as a stem bearing two yellow autumn kui (huangqiu kui) blossoms with prominent stamens and serrate-edged leaves, with two chilong holding sprigs of lingzhi fungus in their mouths climbing up the side of the larger blossom, the white stone with some opaque white and pale brown inclusions and touches of added russet coloring
8½ in. (21.5 cm.) across, wood stand, Japanese wood box

Lot Essay

Yellow autumn kui flowers are a member of the malvaceae family. They flower in the autumn, have a subtle fragrance and attractive foliage, and are frequently represented in paintings, beginning in the Song dynasty. For two such representations see P. Valder, The Garden Plants of China, Portland, Oregon, 1999, p. 310, fig. 19.74; a painting by Du Jin, Ming dynasty, p. 348, fig. 20.2, and a Southern Song painting by Li Di, which is called 'Hibiscus and Rock'. The flower is sometimes identified as hibiscus or musk mallow.

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