A CARVED BAMBOO 'SEVEN SAGES OF THE BAMBOO GROVE' INCENSE HOLDER QING DYNASTY, 18TH / 19TH CENTURY

of cylindrical form, meticulously carved in high relief and openwork with a continuous scene depicting the Seven Scholars of the Bamboo Grove, one of them playing the zither (qin) surrounded by scholars, two of whom stand by his table while two others sit on the ground facing him, two further scholars converse nearby, the setting further decorated with three boys, including one sitting next to a small stove, the patina of a warm honey-brown colour, the top and bottom fitted with hardwood ends centred with an aperture

Gerard Hawthorn Ltd., London.

Oriental Works of Art, Gerard Hawthorn, London, 2004, cat. no. 95.

Another bamboo incense holder with a similar scene of the Seven Scholars of the Bamboo Grove, carved by Shi Tianzhang and preserved in the Palace Museum, Beijing, is illustrated in Bamboo, Wood, Ivory and Rhinoceros Horn Carvings. The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Hong Kong, 2002, pl. 56. Compare also an example from the Ip Yee collection, illustrated by Ip Yee and Laurence Tam, Chinese Bamboo Carving, Part I, Hong Kong, 1978, pl. 91.