An extremely rare and fine Chinese Imperial soapstone brushwasher

An extremely rare and fine Chinese Imperial soapstone brushwasher, rare gilded Qianlong mark and of the period 1736-92. The octofoil form engraved with stylized lotus between key fret borders, the stone a dark red brown colour with paler striations, raised on a carved hardwood stand, 15.6cm. (2) Provenance: an English private collection. The Qian or Heaven Trigram between two dragons (long) reveals the Chinese Emperor's love of wordplay. This pure Yang trigram was also suitable for an emperor, being known as the father of the trigrams.