A white jade 'dragon' marriage bowl, Qing dynasty, Qianlong period | 清乾隆 白玉雕雲蝠雙龍活環耳洗

Expertly finished to a smooth and highly tactile polish, the present bowl is fashioned from a luminous white jade boulder of remarkable quality. While in China, vessels of this type are known as washers, in the West, they are typically referred to as marriage bowls. The name derives from their auspicious designs that offered blessings and good wishes upon a marital union. The dragons on the interior and handles are symbolic of imperial power; and when viewed from the top, the dragon handles bear resemblance to butterflies, a motif that was commonly employed on marriage bowls due to their symbolism of marital bliss. The exterior is deftly carved in relief with bats amongst scrolling clouds, representing a pun for vast good fortune, as limitless as the sky (hongfu qitian), thus this piece would have been befitting as a gift on the occasion of a marriage.