Brushwasher in Form of Lingzhi Fungus (1736–95): Art, History and Details

Brushwasher in Form of Lingzhi Fungus (1736–95) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

In China, access to political power was granted to those who passed the civil service examinations, a system that offered official service only at a high level of education. Chinese literati-officials, whose daily routine involved administrative work in an office, enjoyed precious objects on their writing desks that offered distraction and demonstrated good taste. By the Ming (1368–1644) and Qing (1644–1911) dynasties, these utensils of the literati studio became also collectibles and were treasured as artworks. Desk objects included paper weights, seals and seal paste boxes, brush rests like this porcelain one, wrist rests, brush holders, water droppers, ink cakes, miniature mountains, and albums, all ranging in material from jade, gilt bronze, lacquer, and wood to porcelain.

Object facts

• Title: Brushwasher in Form of Lingzhi Fungus
• Date: 1736–95
• Culture: China, Jiangxi province, Jingdezhen kilns, Qing dynasty (1644-1911), Qianlong mark and reign (1736-95)
• Type: Ceramic
• Technique: porcelain with celadon glaze
• Dimensions: Overall: 0.8 x 11.1 cm (5/16 x 4 3/8 in.)
• Collection: China - Qing Dynasty
• Department: Chinese Art
• Accession number: 1964.225

A detail from the museum

Lingzhi is a woody mushroom often used in traditional Chinese medicine and associated with immortality.

Collection credit

Severance and Greta Millikin Collection

Further reading listed by the museum

• Catalogue of the Severance and Greta Millikin Collection. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1990.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.