Lot Essay
The present lot is depicted in an ink painting by the renowned contemporary ink artist from Nanjing, Liu Dan (b. 1953). In his signed colophon above the brush pot, Liu Dan writes in high praise of porcelain from the Yongzheng period stating that these Imperial ceramics reached such a consummate level of sophistication as to be comparable with porcelains made during the Yongle and Chenghua periods of the Ming dynasty. He adds that during the Yongzheng reign many innovative designs were conceived and rendered with unprecedented quality and refinement. Ceramic vessels painted in mocai (‘ink colour’) in particular, such as the present lot, were greatly improved from those made during the preceding Kangxi period. The present brush pot with its superb faux bois enamels reserving an expertly rendered panoramic landscape scene, exhibits this new level of innovation and unprecedented quality which the artist so greatly admires.