AN EXTREMELY RARE BLUE AND WHITE BRUSH HANDLE MARK AND PERIOD OF XUANDE

of tubular form tapering slightly towards the flat base, densely decorated with foliate scrolls reserved in white on an uneven blue ground, collared with a band of diapers at the tapered end and a cartouche enclosing a six-character reign mark inscribed horizontally flanked by a key-fret border, just below the unglazed socket fitted with dark and light bristles

C.T. Loo & Co, New York (1941).
Collection of John A. Foster, Jr., Burmingham, Michigan (1940s-1981).
Sotheby's New York, 6th November 1981, lot 262.
Christie's New York, 1st June 1990, lot 167.
Sotheby's Hong Kong, 25th April 2004, lot 99.
Eskenazi Ltd, London.

'Ming Blue-and-White. An Exhibition of Blue-Decorated Porcelain of the Ming Dynasty', Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia Museum Bulletin, vol. XLIV, no. 223, Autumn 1949, cat. no. 147.
The Arts of the Ming Dynasty, Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, 1952, cat. no. 106.

Annette L. Juliano, 'Antiques for the Scholar's Table', Architectural Digest, March 1986, p. 149.
Geng Baochang, Ming Qing ciqi jianding [Appraisal of Ming and Qing porcelain], Hong Kong, 1993, pl. 89.
Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, London, 1994-2010, vol. 4, no. 1652.

The brush handle is overall in good condition. There is a 4 cm hairline in the glaze extending from the rim across the mark (showing in the illustration in the catalogue) and a 1 mm glaze frit on the edge at the end.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

No other porcelain brush handle of the Xuande period, or any period prior to the Wanli reign (AD 1573-1620), appears to have survived. The placement of the mark on this piece is somewhat unusual, as it would appear upside down when the brush is in use. However, on later brushes both marks and designs have been applied in various different directions; compare, for example, the brush of Wanli mark and period in this collection, lot 34, where the mark would read correctly from the top while writing, but in that case the dragon design would appear upside down. Although it is not certain that this tubular handle would originally have been designed as a brush handle, any other function would be equally unique. Its present brush of dark and light hairs is still unused.