A CARVED WHITE-GLAZED BRUSHPOT BY CHEN GUOZHI, QING DYNASTY, DAOGUANG PERIOD

finely carved in varying relief on each side with a barbed panel enclosing lakeside landscape scenes depicting figures engaged in various pursuits amidst dwellings and lush vegetation, with high mountain peaks rising in the distance, separated by the beribboned bajixiang on a cash diaper ground, the flat mouthrim decorated with five bats swooping amongst cloud swirls, the base carved in relief with the four character mark Chenguozhi zhi

A Private Japanese Collection.

The overall condition is very good. The moulding and carving is extremely crisp. There is no damage to the raised relief areas. The body has minor iron spots throughout.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Chen Guozhi, along with Wang Bingying and Li Yucheng, were ceramic artists at Jingdezhen during the early nineteenth century, who individually crafted and signed carved porcelains, often imitating wood, ivory and bamboo.  During the first half of the nineteenth century the distinction between artists and craftsmen began to dissolve, encouraging fine artists like Chen to assume artistic pretensions of identification and dating to match their undoubted skills at potting and carving. 

Compare similar examples signed by Chen, including a white-glazed biscuit brushpot depicting figures and water-buffalo in landscape, illustrated in Escape from the Dusty World: Chinese Paintings and Literati Works of Art, London, 1999, cat.no. 95; a light turquoise-glazed example, illustrated in John Ayers, Chinese Ceramics in the Baur Collection, vol. 2, Geneva, 1999, pl. 340; as well as a small box and cover included in the exhibition In Scholar's Taste, Sydney L. Moss, Ltd., London, 1983, no. 103.