Lot Essay
Sansong was the alias for the carver Zhu Zhizheng, a native of Jiading, Jiangsu province, and the second son of the Ming dynasty bamboo carver, Zhu Ying. He was active from 1621-1644 and was known to carve for his own pleasure. Another example by the artist, of almost identical size to the present lot, also carved in openwork with a similar theme and with an inscription dating to 1618 was sold at Christie's New York, 16 September 1999, lot 34.