FEATURES ARCHIVE

A selection of fascinating items from the upcoming sale, and each has a tale to tell. One should not forget that these rare and treasured things were once in daily use and can illuminate our understanding of the time and place from which they originate. Here we examine four very different objects.

What is it?
A blue and white, porcelain brushpot from the Kangxi period (1662–1722).

How was it used?
This porcelain brush pot would have stood on the desk of a scholar. Brushes in a range of sizes, and with various kinds of hair bristles, were used for different kinds of calligraphy and painting. After use the brushes would be cleaned and all the ink or paint removed. The tips of the brushes would be carefully smoothed into shape and the brushes placed, handle downwards, into a brush pot, ready to be used again.

What’s the story?
The decoration on this brush pot depicts what were believed to be the ‘four accomplishments’ of a gentleman-scholar – playing the qin (a type of 7-stringed zither), playing weiqi chess, painting and calligraphy. All these activities are shown to be taking place outside in a garden setting, since the gentlemen appreciated the beauties of nature and, even if they had to live in town, preferred to pretend that they were in the countryside.

What is it?
A gilt-bronze seated figure of Sakyamuni, the Supreme Buddha of our age, whose name means ‘sage of the Sakyas’. The deity is shown fully robed and wearing a fivepointed headdress, within each panel of which is depicted another small Buddha figure seated on a lotus throne.

How was it used?
It is probable that this figure of Sakyamuni would have been placed on an altar in a Buddhist monastery.

What’s the story?
His face has a gentle, contemplative, expression and he sits in the so-called ‘lotus position’, so that it is possible to see that he has flat feet and that a wheel is depicted on the sole of each foot. These are two of the 32 signs of the Buddha. Sakyamuni’s hands are in a special position or mudra, called the Abhiseka mudra. This is the mudra of anointing, associated with the anointing ceremony performed when a novice enters the Buddhist community, conferring upon him the ability to perform his spiritual duties.

What is it?
A very rare, blue and white Ming warming bowl, made at the Jingdezhen kilns in Jiangxi province – China’s most important porcelain-producing kilns from the Yuan dynasty (1279–1368) to the present day.

How was it used?
Ceramic warming bowls of this type consist of a shallower upper bowl joined to a deeper lower bowl at the rim. The construction allowed the cavity between the two bowls to be filled with hot water. The hot water would then have helped to keep warm whatever was placed into the upper bowl.

What’s the story?
Like many warming bowls, it would have been used for food or medicines, but the beautiful scroll of daylilies around the exterior may suggest more details of its use. In Chinese the daylily is called xuancao, and xuan is a traditional honorific way to refer to one’s mother. The flower is also a symbol of longevity, and thus daylilies could be used to honour one’s mother and to wish her long life. The roots of daylilies were also used to prepare medicine, which was believed to be effective against fevers and liver complaints. This then would be a most appropriate bowl from which to serve one’s mother culinary delicacies or medicines.

What is it?
A rare, hongmu, Qing dynasty ‘moon-gazing’ chair.

How was it used?
This reclining chair of the type sometimes referred to as ‘moon-gazing’ chairs has been designed to offer informal comfort to its occupant. Although known in the Ming dynasty, chairs of this sort appear to have become fashionable in the mid-Qing period, and are characterized by their tilted back-rests and extended arm-rests. Some examples, such as the current chair, provide the added luxury of a cylindrical head-rest and a leg-rest. As these chairs follow the natural shape of the reclined body they were perfect for relaxation, contemplation of the moon, and for chatting with friends.

What’s the story?
There is a scroll painting of The Eight Drunken Immortals by the Ming dynasty artist Chou Ying (circa A.D. 1494–1552), which depicts an inebriated immortal reclining in a similar chair holding a cup of wine. It may be this association that has led to the other name for this type of chair – ‘drunken lord’s chair’.