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This brush pot has been extremely skilfully carved with a rocky landscape through which a mixture of Chinese and foreign tribute bearers travel. The scene depicts the varied and auspicious gifts sent as tribute to the emperor from within China’s borders, and beyond. Much of the iconography on this superb brush pot is highly symbolic.

Tribute to the Emperor
The theme of tribute bearers was a particularly popular one in the 18th century, and it is the subject of a number of court paintings, such as the anonymous hanging scroll Envoys from Vassal States and Foreign Countries Presenting Tribute to the Emperor, in the Palace Museum, Beijing.

The Symbolism of Elephants
Elephants were a popular theme in Chinese art, especially that for the imperial court. The word for elephant in Chinese is xiang, which can also mean appearance, and which additionally sounds like a word meaning happiness. Elephants also provide another message when combined with a precious vase. The word for vase in Chinese is ping, which sounds the same as the word for peace. The combination of an elephant with a vase on its back thus suggests the phrase taiping youxiang, ‘great peace in the world’. That message is re-emphasised by the inclusion of a saddle cloth, the word for which is an, sounding like another word for peace. Elephants were regarded as exotic, valuable and magnificent, and the depiction of this elephant with saddle cloth, bearing a vase on its back, was therefore a very appropriate symbol which offered a subtle compliment to the emperor, as a monarch who ruled over a peaceful empire.