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Lot Essay
The poem can be translated:
Fantong and Kunlun are of the same mountain range,
Carried by river to Khotan, bearing the jade essence.
Who is depicted on it, may I ask?
Probably Beigu of Xiliang, speaking of immortal affairs.
This poem was composed by Qianlong in 1795. In it he speaks of the fine quality of the jade material of the brush pot, as well as the subject matter depicted on it. According to Shuijingzhu, an ancient book of topography, Fantong is the name of a mountain forming part of the Kunlun mountain range. The jade roughs from this mountain, carried by river, are deposited on the riverbed of Khotan. These jade pebbles, of which the current brush pot is made, are considered the best quality of jade material after this long and arduous process. Xiliang is the name of a Western Han Dynasty Daoist, sobriquet Taji Zhenren (True Man of Supreme Ultimate). He is said to have written a document Huangjin Sushu (Letters on Yellow Brocade), in which is recorded an immortal Beiguzi from Dayuan (modern day Ferghana Valley of Central Asia). Qianlong thinks the elderly man depicted on the current brush pot, presumably because of Khotan’s proximity to Dayuan, is most likely Beiguzi.
Jade brush pots are precious objects on the desk of an Imperial scholar. They are extremely wasteful to make, using a whole block of jade pebble. They are also quite laborious, especially a brush pot with such intricate design as the current one. It is for this reason that jade brush pots are very rare, while those inscribed with imperial poems are extremely rare. Spinach jade is one of Qianlong’s favoured material for making brush pots. The current example is unusually small and delicate, and probably the smallest Imperial inscribed brush pot in existence. Although it is small in size, its carving is particularly fine, with the design rendered on multiple planes of carving in the thickness of only 1 cm, comparable to top quality bamboo brush pots. Compare to the Imperial inscribed spinach jade brush pot sold at Christie’s Paris, 15 December 2010, lot 106 (fig. 1), decorated with ‘The Literary Gathering of West Garden’. It is perhaps the largest Imperial inscribed brush pot in existence, and provides an amusing contrast to the current example.
Fantong and Kunlun are of the same mountain range,
Carried by river to Khotan, bearing the jade essence.
Who is depicted on it, may I ask?
Probably Beigu of Xiliang, speaking of immortal affairs.
This poem was composed by Qianlong in 1795. In it he speaks of the fine quality of the jade material of the brush pot, as well as the subject matter depicted on it. According to Shuijingzhu, an ancient book of topography, Fantong is the name of a mountain forming part of the Kunlun mountain range. The jade roughs from this mountain, carried by river, are deposited on the riverbed of Khotan. These jade pebbles, of which the current brush pot is made, are considered the best quality of jade material after this long and arduous process. Xiliang is the name of a Western Han Dynasty Daoist, sobriquet Taji Zhenren (True Man of Supreme Ultimate). He is said to have written a document Huangjin Sushu (Letters on Yellow Brocade), in which is recorded an immortal Beiguzi from Dayuan (modern day Ferghana Valley of Central Asia). Qianlong thinks the elderly man depicted on the current brush pot, presumably because of Khotan’s proximity to Dayuan, is most likely Beiguzi.
Jade brush pots are precious objects on the desk of an Imperial scholar. They are extremely wasteful to make, using a whole block of jade pebble. They are also quite laborious, especially a brush pot with such intricate design as the current one. It is for this reason that jade brush pots are very rare, while those inscribed with imperial poems are extremely rare. Spinach jade is one of Qianlong’s favoured material for making brush pots. The current example is unusually small and delicate, and probably the smallest Imperial inscribed brush pot in existence. Although it is small in size, its carving is particularly fine, with the design rendered on multiple planes of carving in the thickness of only 1 cm, comparable to top quality bamboo brush pots. Compare to the Imperial inscribed spinach jade brush pot sold at Christie’s Paris, 15 December 2010, lot 106 (fig. 1), decorated with ‘The Literary Gathering of West Garden’. It is perhaps the largest Imperial inscribed brush pot in existence, and provides an amusing contrast to the current example.