AN INSCRIBED BAMBOO BRUSHPOT WITH POETIC INSCRIPTIONS BY XINGXI QING DYNASTY, 18TH – 19TH CENTURY

of cylindrical form carved of two nodes of bamboo, the slightly irregular sides rising from three short feet to a slightly convex lip, inscribed in running script around the body with two poems purportedly taken from paintings, signed Xingxi, the bamboo patinated to a warm yellowish-brown colour, Japanese wood box

An original Japanese invoice dated to the 4th year of Showa (1929) accompanies this lot.

The poems inscribed on the present brushpot may be translated as follows:

As a mountain hermit lives a secluded life
deep in the bamboos and trees,
Where birds come home and blossoms fall,
the day grows dark and then darker.
A traveller with a staff hobbles on
often losing his way.
Isn't it the sound of someone reciting books that he
searches for everywhere?

Spring clouds all fly away revealing green mountains,
below them someone's house (can be seen) at the bend of a stream.
I left my boat to drink wine and return home late,
At the little bridge with its young willows,
birds call intermittently.

The inscription Xingxi xie (written by Xingxi) possibly refers to the prominent poet Cheng Mengxing (1678-1747), whose sobriquet was Xingxi, and whose lines were borrowed for the decoration of this piece.