well carved in the form of a half-peach, one side decorated in openwork with a handle rendered in the form of a gnarled branch extending downwards and meandering around the base issuing further peaches and leaves, the other side engraved in lishu with a poem likening the cup to a beautiful woman, the underside centred with a seal mark and an inscription reading Xingyouhengtang ('Hall of Constancy'), the studio name of the fifth Prince Ding, Zaiquan, the soapstone of a pale beige-green colour with attractive cinnabar-red inclusions
The
Xingyouhengtang ('Hall of Constancy') four-character mark on the base identifies this washer as having belonged to the Fifth Prince Ding, Zaiquan of the late Qing dynasty. Xingyouhengtang was the prince's main residence in the Forbidden City. Zaiquan was the great-great-grandson of the Qianlong Emperor and had a distinguished career in the service of the court until his death in 1854. The prince was a keen art collector and appears to have made it a habit to have his hall mark inscribed on his artefacts.
For a brief biography of the prince see Gerard Tsang and Hugh Moss, Arts from the Scholar's Studio, Fung Ping Shan Museum, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 1986, p. 138, where the authors illustrate a carved gourd piece inscribed with the Xingyouheng Tang mark, pl. 108. Another gourd vase bearing the same mark was sold in these rooms, 8th October 2010, lot 2233. Compare also a white jade figure of a seated sage with the same mark engraved in a square seal on its back, illustrated in Guyu jingying ('The Art of Jade Carving in Ancient China'), Taipei, 1989, pl. 187. See also a yellow jade waterpot with Xingyouhengtang hall mark, offered in this sale, lot 8. Compare also a similar soapstone cup rendered in the form of a half-peach by the same carver, offered in this sale, lot 104.
