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Lot Essay
The carving on the current brush pot is remarkably intricate. Details such as the folds of the figures, flow of the river and nodules of the pine tree bark are all exceptionally well rendered. The composition is simple yet well-defined - the carver deliberately worked only on one side of the brush pot, leaving a large uncarved space, capturing the literati ideal of eschewing complexity and ornateness.
Aside from this brush pot, only five bamboo pieces bearing the signature of Shang Xun have been published to date, among which three are carved in the liu qing technique. The first is a brush pot in the collection of the Guangdong Folk Art Museum, carved with a riverscape; the second is another brush pot in the Shanghai Museum Collection, carved with figures preparing tea under wutong trees (fig. 1); the third is a brush pot, published by Wang Shixiang in Zhongguo meishu quanji - 11 - zhumu yajiao qi, Beijing, 1987, p. 10. The other two examples are carved in low relief. One is a wrist wrest in a Japanese private collection, bearing a Shang Xun signature as well as a ‘Jiaqing second year’ date. The other one is a brush pot in the Beijing Palace Museum Collection, carved with two different scenes comprising the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove and Eight Horses.
To date no textual record about Shang Xun’s life has been found, though from surviving examples it is discernible that Shang Xun was
a highly accomplished carver especially in the liu qing technique. The ‘Jiaqing second year’ date on the aforementioned wrist rest allows us to date him to the mid-Qing dynasty. Based on the style of the Palace Museum brush pot, the eminent scholar Wang Shixiang suggested that Shang Xun was active during the Jiaqing to Daoguang period, see ibid.
Aside from this brush pot, only five bamboo pieces bearing the signature of Shang Xun have been published to date, among which three are carved in the liu qing technique. The first is a brush pot in the collection of the Guangdong Folk Art Museum, carved with a riverscape; the second is another brush pot in the Shanghai Museum Collection, carved with figures preparing tea under wutong trees (fig. 1); the third is a brush pot, published by Wang Shixiang in Zhongguo meishu quanji - 11 - zhumu yajiao qi, Beijing, 1987, p. 10. The other two examples are carved in low relief. One is a wrist wrest in a Japanese private collection, bearing a Shang Xun signature as well as a ‘Jiaqing second year’ date. The other one is a brush pot in the Beijing Palace Museum Collection, carved with two different scenes comprising the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove and Eight Horses.
To date no textual record about Shang Xun’s life has been found, though from surviving examples it is discernible that Shang Xun was
a highly accomplished carver especially in the liu qing technique. The ‘Jiaqing second year’ date on the aforementioned wrist rest allows us to date him to the mid-Qing dynasty. Based on the style of the Palace Museum brush pot, the eminent scholar Wang Shixiang suggested that Shang Xun was active during the Jiaqing to Daoguang period, see ibid.