17TH/18TH CENTURY

.IChenxiangmu, also known as aloeswood or eaglewood, is a highly valued type of wood that is typically only found in small segments of usable material, which were traditionally pieced together to make small scholar's objects. The honey-like fragrance of this wood, reputedly the result of honey ants nesting in the dead wood, also made it valuable in the manufacture of incense.

A closely related, though slightly larger (13.3 cm.) chenxiangmu brush pot, also dated to the 17th/18th centuries, in the Robert H. Blumenfield Collection, was sold at Christie's New York, 25 March 2010, lot 832.