A ROOTWOOD WATERPOT QING DYNASTY, 18TH CENTURY

the ovoid vessel hollowed out from a single piece of cocoon-shaped rootwood and resting on a countersunk base, the exterior covered with knotted and gnarled branches intertwining with each other, the lustrous patina of a warm reddish-brown colour, the interior lacquered black

See a comparable set of rootwood vessels in the collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Zhongguo zhumu yajiao qi quanji [The complete collection of Chinese bamboo, wood, ivory and rhinoceros horn], vol. 2: Mu diao qi [wood carvings], pt. 1, Beijing, 2009, pp. 108-109, cat. no. 103.