- 9
A LARGE INSCRIBED HUANGHUALI BRUSHPOT QING DYNASTY, 18TH – 19TH CENTURY
Estimate
250,000 - 300,000 HKD
bidding is closed
Description
- wood
patinated to a variegated amber-brown tone, of cylindrical form and carved from a hollowed-out trunk, the base pierced with a central aperture and fitted with a plug, inscribed to the base in red lacquer on the cardinal points with the studio name Zuishi shanfang ('Drunken Stone Mountain Retreat')
Catalogue Note
It is rare to find an undecorated huanghuali brushpot of such large size, and with the studio name under the foot. Zuishi Shanfang ('Drunken Stone Mountain Retreat'), was the studio name of Wu Yun (1747-1837), also known as Runzhi and Yusong. A jinshi of 1790 from Wuxian, Jiangsu province, Wu was known as a skilled calligrapher, specialising in regular script. The studio name clearly references the Tang poet Li Bai, who was said to have visited Huangshan, and while tipsy noticed an attractive rocky protrusion. After walking around it three times, he threw the rest of his wine over it, saying that the rock too was drunk.
A huanghuali brushpot of similar proportions, from the collection of Mr and Mrs R.P. Piccus, is illustrated in Robert P. Piccus (ed.), Wood From the Scholar’s Table, Hong Kong, 1984, pl. 29; another was included in the exhibition Documentary Chinese Works of Art In Scholar’s Taste, Sydney L. Moss Ltd., London, 1983, cat. no. 66; two were sold in our New York rooms, the first, 1st June 1994, lot 487, and the second, 7th/8th April 1988, lot 366.
Undecorated brushpots made of huanghuali are discussed by Gerard Tsang and Hugh Moss in the catalogue to the Oriental Ceramic Society of Hong Kong exhibition Arts from the Scholar’s Studio, Fung Ping Shan Museum, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 1986, p. 196, where it is noted that "the great appeal of a plain wood brush pot is in its form, its markings and colouring, and its association with the literati".
A huanghuali brushpot of similar proportions, from the collection of Mr and Mrs R.P. Piccus, is illustrated in Robert P. Piccus (ed.), Wood From the Scholar’s Table, Hong Kong, 1984, pl. 29; another was included in the exhibition Documentary Chinese Works of Art In Scholar’s Taste, Sydney L. Moss Ltd., London, 1983, cat. no. 66; two were sold in our New York rooms, the first, 1st June 1994, lot 487, and the second, 7th/8th April 1988, lot 366.
Undecorated brushpots made of huanghuali are discussed by Gerard Tsang and Hugh Moss in the catalogue to the Oriental Ceramic Society of Hong Kong exhibition Arts from the Scholar’s Studio, Fung Ping Shan Museum, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 1986, p. 196, where it is noted that "the great appeal of a plain wood brush pot is in its form, its markings and colouring, and its association with the literati".