A RARE IMPERIAL HARDSTONE AND MOTHER-OF-PEARL EMBELLISHED ZITAN BRUSHPOT

PROPERTY FROM AN ASIAN COLLECTION

细节

A RARE IMPERIAL HARDSTONE AND MOTHER-OF-PEARL EMBELLISHED ZITAN BRUSHPOT
QING DYNASTY, KANGXI PERIOD (1662-1722)

Of cylindrical form raised on three tab feet and wire-inlaid around the lipped rim with a continuous foliate scroll, the brushpot is finely inlaid with wood, mother-of-pearl, coral, malachite, soapstone and gilt-bronze to depict a butterfly fluttering beside a long gnarled bough bearing prunus in various stages of bloom, entwined with nandina branches, above a low rock, the reverse with a poem in archaic script inlaid with gilt-bronze wire and terminating in two seals, xue and ju, for Sun Xueju, the late Ming craftsman famous for his skilfull inlay work
7 1/8 in. (18 cm.) high, box

拍品专文

Previously sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 15 November 1989, lot 515, and again at Christie's Hong Kong, 29 October 2001, lot 534.

The inscription may be translated as:

The great bell rings from the darkened chamber;
(its sound) floats above the tiles and down to the middle hall.
Who said that by striking my hand with ease;
I can command such thunderous sound?

The style of decoration depicting prunus and nandina is very similar to that on the cover of a rectangular zitan box, sold at Christie's Hong Kong, The Imperial Sale, 30 April 2000, lot 610. The rectangular box is also inscribed with a poem. The floral depiction of nandina and prunus is an imagery of the heralding of Spring. Nandina is a plant that bears red berries and is often combined with plum blossoms in floral arrangements or traditionally grown together in the garden. For a discussion on this floral combination, see T. Tse Bartholomew, 'Botanical Puns in Chinese Art', Orientations, vol. 16, no. 9, September 1985, pp. 18-34.