Lot 238A

19th C. Qing Dynasty Rock Crystal Brush Washer - Double Gourd Form

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Lot 238
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19th C. Qing Dynasty Rock Crystal Brush Washer - Double Gourd Form
19th C. Qing Dynasty Rock Crystal Brush Washer - Double Gourd Form
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19th C. Qing Dynasty Rock Crystal Brush Washer - Double Gourd Form

Estimate: $400 - $600

Starting Bid: $200

(0 Bids)
by Artemis Fine Arts
June 25, 2026 9:00 AM MDT (In Progress)
Live Auction
686 S. Taylor Avenue
Suite 108
Louisville, CO, US 80027

East Asia, China, Qing Dynasty, ca. 1800–1900 CE. A scholar's brush washer carved from a single mass of clear rock crystal, the stone worked into the swelling silhouette of a double gourd. The waisted form opens into two shallow basins that once held water for rinsing ink-laden brushes, while the exterior blossoms with naturalistic relief, trailing vines, broad leaves, and a smaller fruit clinging to the rim. The lapidary has exploited the crystal's glassy transparency to lend the vessel a frozen, dewy quality, light passing cleanly through walls polished to a watery sheen. The double gourd, or hulu, is among the most auspicious of Chinese motifs, a homophone for blessings and a vessel associated with longevity, fertility, and the immortals. An object of refined function and quiet display, it belonged on the desk of a cultivated literatus. Size: 5" W x 1.8" H x 3.6" D (12.7 cm W x 4.6 cm H x 9.1 cm D).

The double gourd (hulu) carries layered meaning in Chinese material culture. Because its name puns on "fu lu" (blessings and prosperity), and because a single vine bears many seed-laden fruits, it became an emblem of abundant progeny and unbroken generations. The gourd is also the attribute of Li Tieguai, one of the Eight Immortals, who carried a hulu containing the elixir of life, reinforcing its association with longevity and Daoist transcendence. Rock crystal (shuijing), prized for resembling frozen water or "thousand-year ice," was laboriously abraded rather than cut, making such transparent vessels a demonstration of both costly material and lapidary virtuosity prized within the scholar's studio.

Provenance: private Great Barrington, Massachusetts, USA collection, 1995 to 2005 or via inheritance; ex-JCT collection, U.S. Navy Commander, assembled 1926 to 1934

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Item # 203339

  • Condition: Excellent. Some minor scratches and abrasions, but, otherwise, intact and excellent with good detail.

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Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $299 $25
$300 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 $99,999 $5,000
$100,000 $199,999 $10,000
$200,000 + $20,000