An Important Chinese Imperial Jade Five-Dragon Brushwasher

An Important Chinese Imperial Jade Five-Dragon Brushwasher, Ming / Qing dynasty, 17th/18th century. 37.5cm, (weight 12kg approx), with a superb contemporary hardwood stand. This massive jade brushwasher is of monumental size. The body is well hollowed and deeply carved with five scaly sinuous five-clawed dragons, which writhe partially hidden beneath layers of ruyi-shaped cloud scrolls. Their heads with long moustaches, emerge at the rim beside two flaming pearls of wisdom. The base of the bowl fringed with breaking waves becomes a whorl, which diminishes to the centre. The stone is of a pale grey-green celadon colour. The stand is carved with a whorl, waves and cloud scrolls, which elegantly compliments the washer. Provenance The 3rd Baron Alington of Crichel (1896-1940), the Hon. Mrs Mary Anna Marten OBE, Crichel House, Dorset (1929-2010). Exhibited Chinese Jade Throughout the Ages, an exhibition organised by the Arts Council of Great Britain and the Oriental Ceramic Society, May - June 1975, Victoria and Albert Museum, catalogue no.356, described in the exhibition catalogue as 17th century. Illustrated J P Palmer, Jade, London 1967, pl 21 & 22. Catalogue Note The subject of this extraordinary washer creates a most auspicious Imperial work of art and illustrates the dragon's ability to create clouds, wind and rain, elements of great importance to an agricultural economy. Furthermore, the dragon symbolizes the Emperor, and the number five represents the five blessings (wufu) of old age, wealth, health, virtue and peaceful death; while the base formed as a whirlpool of water symbolizes the basic element in Chinese cosmology - the water that becomes the symbol of full life. The earliest example of this form is the celebrated Jade Jar of Dushan, (Dushan Dayu Hai), one of the Wonders of the Mongol court, which weighs 3.5 tons and was used as a wine vessel. It is believed to have been commissioned by Khubilai Khan, the founder of the Yuan dynasty for use following his military victories, and can hold 1.5 tons of wine. This extraordinary vessel, now kept in the Beihai Park in Beijing, was the earliest large-scale jade carving in China and marked a milestone in the development of jade working. For a similar five-dragon brushwasher, cf. L Yang and E Capon, Translucent World, Chinese Jade from the Forbidden City, p.202. For a smaller dragon brushwasher with a similar whirlpool base, carved with three dragons, cf. Christie's Hong Kong, Important Chinese Jades from the Personal Collection of Alan and Simone Hartman, Part II, 27 November 2007, lot 1504; also, see Sotheby's Hong Kong, Yuanmingyuan, The Garden of Absolute Clarity, 9 October 2007, lot 1335 for a white jade dragon washer; see also S C Nott, Chinese Jade, pl.C1, and another, with a six character Qianlong mark, is in the Hermitage Museum collection.