A CARVED BAMBOO BRUSHPOT, BY ZHANG XIHUANG 17TH / 18TH CENTURY

of circular section, skilfully carved in liuqing technique around the sides with a painterly lakeside landscape of pavilions and different varieties of trees emerging from rocky islands, two scholars sitting around a stone table in the foreground, their heads turned to an approaching attendant, below a multitude of craggy mountains in the far-distance, all lightly carved through the paler ochre skin to the rich reddish-brown body beneath, an inscription reading Bingchen chuxia fang Yuan ren biyi ('Imitating the brush style of the Yuan masters in the early summer of bingchen year'), signed Zhang Xihuang, followed by the seals reading Zhang Zonglue yin and Xihuang, the surface with lustrous patina

A Private Japanese Collection (acquired in the first half of the 20th century).
Christie's Hong Kong, 28th October 2002, lot 748.

Apart from some fine vertical age cracks, the overall condition is very good. The interior is stained with ink from years of use.
"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."

This exceptional brushpot is by the hand of one of China's most outstanding master carvers Zhang Zonglue (hao Xihuang), a native of Jiangyin in southern Jiangsu province. Zhang was active in the late Ming and early Qing periods. This piece represents the height of Zhang's aesthetic taste and technical skill. Zhang was especially renowned for his use of the liuqing technique, a method of carving that involved the manipulation of the contrasting colours of the smooth greenish bamboo skin and the darker and more fibrous inner layer of the stalk. In this method of carving, the upper layer of the bamboo is cut away leaving a dark background while the skin is left in relief to form the positive image. The result is a pronounced contrast between dark and light tones which is achieved through a drying process in which the green skin of the material turns into a rich light brown colour while the inner layer of the worked bamboo matures into a darker lustrous brown tone.

The outer skin of the present brushpot is carved with a continuous mountainous landscape interspersed with figures and pavilions with an inscription suggesting that Zhang obtained his inspiration from paintings by the great Yuan masters. He has created a 'painting' on bamboo that closely imitates the effect of calligraphy and traditional Chinese ink work through the skilful manipulation of the amount of skin that is retained or cut away in the process. The figures seen here are meticulously executed, characteristic of Zhang's exceptional skill in fashioning figures which appear alive and naturalistic.

For further examples of Zhang's work see a brushpot bearing his signature carved with the composition of a mansion among a rocky landscape illustrated in a number of important publications such as Craig Clunas, Art in China, Oxford, 1997, pl. 102, and in R. Soame Jenyns and William Watson, Chinese Art: The Minor Arts II, London, 1965, pl. 198; and another brushpot in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, depicting a scene from the scholars' outing recorded in the famous Ode to the Pavilion of the Inebriated Old Man by Ouyang Xiu (1007-1072), included in the museum's official website.

See also a brushpot in the Shanghai Museum decorated in the liuqing technique illustrated in Zhongguo meishu quanji. Zhu mu ya jiao qi, vol. 11, Beijing, 1987, p. 8, pl. 8; and another from the collection of Dr. Ip Yee published in Ip Yee and Laurence C.S. Tam, Chinese Bamboo Carving, part I, Hong Kong, 1978, pl. 83 and col. pl. 25, together with a slender brushpot signed by Zhang, col. pls. 16 and 17, in the Freer Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.

A small number of Zhang's carvings have also been sold at auction; for example see a brushpot sold in these rooms, 8th October 2010, lot 2184; another carved with a continuous mountain landscape also sold in these rooms, 10th April 2006, lot 1654; a third vessel sold in our London rooms, 14th December 1976, lot 230; and a fourth, bearing Zhang's signature, sold at Christie's New York, 19th September 2007, lot 19.