Details
A FINE WHITE JADE BRUSHWASHER
QING DYNASTY, 18TH CENTURY

Of circular dish-form with plain rounded sides, supported on three short convex feet, the finely polished interior is carved with a pair of confronted cat-fish divided by a lingzhi spray forming a medallion, the translucent stone of even white tone
3 5/16 (8.5 cm.) diam., stand
Literature
Robert Kleiner, Chinese Jades from the Collection of Alan and Simone Hartman, Hong Kong, 1996, no.103

Exhibited
Christie's New York, March 13-26, 2001
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, August 2003 - December 2004

Lot Essay

The cat-fish motif was commonly used in Chinese iconography from the Song dynasty onwards. Its name, nian, is a homophone for the word for 'year', and the cat-fish's head is shaped like a ruyi fungus. In this instance, the combined imagery of the two cat-fish and the lingzhi spray forms the auspicious greeting, nian nian ruyi, 'May your wishes come true, year after year', which is particularly apt as a New Year salutation. It also forms the rebus jixiang youyu, which is a wish for great fortune and abundance. On a more basic level, paired fish also symbolise a successful marriage.

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