A pale green jade 'ruyi' brush washer


QianlongSkilfully carved in the form of an undulating ruyi head rising from five splayed feet to an everted rim with an inner ridge, the slightly waisted sides incised with a scrolling pattern, the softly polished stone of an even pale green tone, wood stand. 10.8cm (4 1/4in) wide (2).
|清乾隆 青白玉雕如意洗Provenance:An important French private collectionMarchant, LondonExhibited, Published and Illustrated:Marchant, 90th Anniversary Exhibition: Ninety Jades for 90 Years, London, 2015, no.1來源：法國重要私人舊藏倫敦Marchant展覽、出版及著錄：Marchant，《玉器九十，90週年特展》，倫敦，2015年，編號1Ruyi literally translates as 'as you wish' and was a very popular motif during the reign of the Qianlong emperor, symbolising the desire for the recipient's wishes to come true. The resemblance with the lingzhi fungus is associated with the auspicious wish for longevity and therefore the vessel represents the auspicious wish for long life.Compare with a white jade washer of similar design, Qianlong, which was sold at Christie's London, 10 November 2015, lot 57.青白玉質，形作靈芝，掏膛而成，方唇，折沿，唇沿淺刻一周，直腹，平底，下承五足，略微外撇。外壁及底部陰刻簡化雲氣紋。此洗取形靈芝，寓意吉祥，紋飾簡練，頗有古意。如意洗在清代頗為流行，文人案頭多有所備，可比較一件乾隆時期白玉如意洗，2015年11月10日售於佳士得倫敦，拍品編號57。