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Found in paintings as well as the decorative arts, the theme of figures washing an elephant, or sao xiang, is a pun on the Buddhist notion of the illusionary nature of the phenomenal world.
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Title: Brush Pot with Scene of Washing an Elephant
Period: Ming dynasty (1368–1644), Chongzhen period (1628–44)
Date: mid-17th century
Culture: China
Medium: Porcelain painted with cobalt blue under transparent glaze (Jingdezhen ware)
Dimensions:
H. 6 1/2 in. (16.5 cm)
Diam. of rim: 4 7/8 in. (12.4 cm)
Diam. of base: 4 7/16 in. (11.2 cm)
Classification: Ceramics
Credit Line: Purchase, Gift of Elizabeth V. Cockcroft, by exchange, 2008
Accession Number: 2008.80
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