QIANLONG PERIOD (1736-1795)

The current brushpot exemplifies the 18th-century lacquer carving style, where sharp edged carving is prevalent with an emphasis on fine details. The subject of Wang Xizhi watching geese is particularly fitting for a brush pot, since he was supposed to have developed his unique calligraphic style by watching the graceful swimming of geese. A very similar brush pot in the Palace Museum, Beijing, is illustrated in The Palace Museum: Peking, London, 1982, pl. 170. Another brush pot with a Qianlong mark carved with the subject of Wang Xizhi exchanging a goose with his calligraphy, is in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated in Carving the Subtle Radiance of Colors, Taipei, 2008, no. 149. Compare also, the brush pot with Jiaqing mark illustrated in Zhongguo meishu quanji, vol 8., no. 187. A brush pot of the same form carved with scholars playing qin was sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 8 October 2006, lot 1095.