.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
The poem on the front bears the title, 'Nine immortals get together' and may be translated as, 'life as long as the mountain; good luck, year in year out', and is signed Wang Zhu from Huangshan (Anhui province) with a seal, Zhan Yan. The reverse is inscribed Pongli, 'immortal place' followed by two seals, Wang and Zhu.
Compare the very similarly carved, but smaller (13.2cm. long) soapstone landscape-form brushrest, signed Wang Zhu and illustrated by Moss and Tsang, Arts from the Scholar's Studio, Hong Kong, 1986, pp. 270-271, no. 267. Another soapstone carving of a lingzhi gatherer reclining against a rock, also bearing the seal of Wang Zhu, as well as the title, 'Picture of gathering lingzhi, is also illustrated, pp. 88-89, no. 48. In the entry for the soapstone landscape/brushrest the authors note that along with no. 48, the carving of the lingzhi gatherer, it is only one of three pieces known 'which are signed Wang Zhu, an unrecorded soapstone carver'.
Compare the very similarly carved, but smaller (13.2cm. long) soapstone landscape-form brushrest, signed Wang Zhu and illustrated by Moss and Tsang, Arts from the Scholar's Studio, Hong Kong, 1986, pp. 270-271, no. 267. Another soapstone carving of a lingzhi gatherer reclining against a rock, also bearing the seal of Wang Zhu, as well as the title, 'Picture of gathering lingzhi, is also illustrated, pp. 88-89, no. 48. In the entry for the soapstone landscape/brushrest the authors note that along with no. 48, the carving of the lingzhi gatherer, it is only one of three pieces known 'which are signed Wang Zhu, an unrecorded soapstone carver'.