A FINE AND RARE INSCRIBED FAUX-BOIS 'TANG YING' BRUSH POT SEAL MARK AND PERIOD OF QIANLONG

of cylindrical form with a recessed base, the exterior meticulously painted with swirling washes of sepia and grisaille imitating wood, inscribed with a fourteen-character inscription in the style of Tang Ying with three seals on one side pian yue, tao, zu, followed by two characters qin shu ('zither and book') and a four-characters Jian qi shu sheng ('Spirit of the Sword, Sound of the book') with three additional seals ban lu, tao, zu, the interior and base enameled in turquoise, the rim of the mouth further dressed in gilt, the base inscribed with a four-character mark in iron-red

The overall condition is very good. Some of the gilding around the mouth has rubbed off a little.
"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."

The poem, by the Southern Song poet Weng Sen, reads and can be translated as follows:

Hao niao zhitou yi pengyou,
Luo hua shui mian jie wenzhang.

Good birds and tree branches are friends,
Fallen flowers and water surface are essays.

With the refinement of materials and craftsmanship and the expansion of the range of glaze and enamel colours during Qianlong's reign, ceramic potters became highly ambitious in their repertoire. They were encouraged in this by the emperor, who had a taste for ornamentation and the novel. Under the directorship of Tang Ying, Superintendent of the Imperial kilns during the Yongzheng and early-Qianlong periods, porcelain simulations of materials such as wood, lacquer, bronze and marble were produced. Such simulations required skills from the porcelain enameller that were not normally required from a painter and through their expertise humble materials became ennobled through their transformation into porcelain, thus becoming imperial works of art.

This meticulously painted brushpot, where the veining of the marble simulation serves to frame the inscription, is extremely rare. A closely related brushpot was sold in these rooms, 25^th April 2004, lot 58. Compare a marble faux-bois rectangular brushpot included in the exhibition In Scholar's Taste. Documentary Chinese Works of Art, Sydney  L. Moss Ltd., London, 1983, cat. no. 100, sold in these rooms, 27^th April 1993, lot 247; and an ovoid vase painted with two panels of landscapes in famille-rose enamels against an imitation marble ground, also with a Qianlong iron-red seal mark and of the period, sold in these rooms, 25^th April 2004, lot 55. The marble swirls can be compared with those on a Qianlong-marked archer's ring in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated in Sekai toji zenshu, vol. 15, Tokyo, 1983, pl. 232 (left).