Porcelain Brushwasher

Some of the earliest Chinese white wares were fashioned after contemporary silver utensils. Considered similarly attractive, the lustrous white porcelains of late Tang and Song (960-1279), while more fragile than the gold or silver vessels they emulated, were nevertheless cheaper and easier to maintain. A type of brushwasher popular during Song comprised of a circular bowl with a flat flanged handle of crescent shape is shown here in different materials, gilt silver and porcelain. The metal vessel is extensively engraved with peony and foliate scroll motifs against a stippled ground on its handle and flat base. The porcelain washer is exactly the same size and has a fish holding a foliate scroll in its mouth in thread relief decorating its handle.