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Lot Essay
Yijin Zhai is the name of the studio belonging to emperor Qianlong's eleventh son, Yong Xing (1752-1823).
The inscription on the brush pot suggests that the scene depicted is based on a painting by Tang Ying (1470-1523), a scholar, painter, calligrapher, and poet of the Ming dynasty whose life story has become a part of popular lore. Even though he was born during the Ming dynasty, many of his paintings (especially paintings of people) exhibit stylistic elements of pre-Tang to Song date. He is one of the elite 'Four Masters of the Ming Dynasty', which also includes Shen Zhou (1427-1509), Wen Zhengming (1470-1559) and Qiu Ying (ca. 1495-1552). Tang was also a talented poet, and is known as one of the 'Four Literary Masters of the Wuzhong Region.'
The two seals, Zhu and Zhizheng, are those of a Ming-period bamboo carver of the Jiading School, who is thought to have been active during the first half of the 17th century. Jiading bamboo carving, named for Jiading, Jiangsu province, was invented by Zhu Zhizheng's grandfather, Zhu He, during the Zhengde and Jiajing periods (1506-1566) of the Ming dynasty. Zhu He merged calligraphy and painting into bamboo carving, a technique characterized by openwork carving and deep carving, and made bamboo carving an independent visual art form. Zhu He's son, Zhu Ying, and his grandson, Zhu Zhizheng, not only inherited the carving skills of their fathers, but made improvements, each becoming more skilled than his predecessor. The three generations established the basic characteristics associated with Jiading bamboo carving, and are referred to as the 'Three Zhus'.
Similar depth and intricacy of carving can be seen on a brush pot carved with a hunting scene, dated to the early Qing dynasty, illustrated in The Palace Museum Collection of Elite Carvings, Beijing, 2002, p. 53, no. 24, which, like the present brush pot, has a wood rim and base.
The inscription on the brush pot suggests that the scene depicted is based on a painting by Tang Ying (1470-1523), a scholar, painter, calligrapher, and poet of the Ming dynasty whose life story has become a part of popular lore. Even though he was born during the Ming dynasty, many of his paintings (especially paintings of people) exhibit stylistic elements of pre-Tang to Song date. He is one of the elite 'Four Masters of the Ming Dynasty', which also includes Shen Zhou (1427-1509), Wen Zhengming (1470-1559) and Qiu Ying (ca. 1495-1552). Tang was also a talented poet, and is known as one of the 'Four Literary Masters of the Wuzhong Region.'
The two seals, Zhu and Zhizheng, are those of a Ming-period bamboo carver of the Jiading School, who is thought to have been active during the first half of the 17th century. Jiading bamboo carving, named for Jiading, Jiangsu province, was invented by Zhu Zhizheng's grandfather, Zhu He, during the Zhengde and Jiajing periods (1506-1566) of the Ming dynasty. Zhu He merged calligraphy and painting into bamboo carving, a technique characterized by openwork carving and deep carving, and made bamboo carving an independent visual art form. Zhu He's son, Zhu Ying, and his grandson, Zhu Zhizheng, not only inherited the carving skills of their fathers, but made improvements, each becoming more skilled than his predecessor. The three generations established the basic characteristics associated with Jiading bamboo carving, and are referred to as the 'Three Zhus'.
Similar depth and intricacy of carving can be seen on a brush pot carved with a hunting scene, dated to the early Qing dynasty, illustrated in The Palace Museum Collection of Elite Carvings, Beijing, 2002, p. 53, no. 24, which, like the present brush pot, has a wood rim and base.