Chinese Soapstone Brushwasher decorated with flowering Lotus, early 20th Century

£45.00

LOT NUMBER 203

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LOT NUMBER 203

Chinese Soapstone Brushwasher decorated with flowering Lotus, early 20th Century

A Chinese Soapstone Brushwasher, carved in high relief with two vase like vessels and a shallow bowl all surrounded by flowering lotus and set on a ground of stylised rockwork, the back flat carved and the base hollowed out at the interior. Various similar pieces can be found with one or more vases surrounded by flowers or sometimes animals and presumably intended as brushwashers. Soapstone was first used by the Chinese over three thousand years ago but began its popularity in the Ming dynasty (1368 -1644) with the height of production during the ensuing Qing dynasty (1644 – 1911) when a stone mined in the Shoushan village in northern Fujian was most commonly used. Shoushan soapstone is noted for its smooth texture, bright colours and fine grain and a wide variety of objects were carved from it. Production continued into the 20th Century which is what we have here but the quality of the work, with sparing use of the drill, suggests a dating in the early 1900s.
Size: 19 x 27 x 7 cm
Weight: 2.4 kg
Date: 1920s
Condition: Good condition overall with little or no chipping to the raised carved decoration but a few stress cracks or fissures (see images 7,8), probably original to the manufacture.
Price: £45

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