A SUPERB AND FINELY CARVED WHITE JADE 'XIYAN TU' BRUSHPOT QING DYNASTY, QIANLONG PERIOD

the cylindrical body rising from five short ruyi feet to a slightly flaring rim, finely carved in varying levels of relief around the exterior with a scholar seated at his pavilion in a rocky river landscape, looking out at his attendant crouching by the river washing an inkstone, the stone of a very pale celadon-white colour with some pale caramel inclusions

Collection of Dr Michael Roger Williams (1921-96), Canterbury, England, gifted by a patient whose life he saved in the 1970s, and thence by descent.

This superbly carved brushpot epitomises the dexterity of jade carvers of the 18th century, who were able to envisage the final piece to incorporate skilfully the natural features of the stone in the overall composition. Carved from a luminous stone of even colour to depict a scholar and his attendant in a luminous landscape setting, the scene is exceptionally carved in varying levels of depth. A sense of naturalism and movement is achieved through the carefully observed details, captured in the expertly rendered various textures of the flowing water against the bridge, and the meticulous modelling of the figures’ facial features and garments.

Jade brushpots of this type were inspired by Chinese painting, where the surface was treated as a horizontal scroll and the scene unfolding with every turn of the vessel. These brushpots were suitable accoutrements for the scholar’s desk, where they served not only as utilitarian vessels but also as vehicles of escape and reflection through their carved subject. The present piece affords a particularly intimate view of a lone scholar appreciating the landscape from a raised pavilion, a subject that was popular in paintings from the Song dynasty onwards as it expressed the desire to live a simple life away from the pressures of officialdom. The Song dynasty poet Wei Ye (960-1020) once wrote, "I find pleasure in inkstone washing, calligraphy writing and fish keeping, and take delight in tea brewing and bird watching", which provided an apt portrayal of the joy in quiet retreat for contemporary scholars. The scene depicted on the present brushpot is Xiyan Tu (Inkstone washing). Since its first appearance in painting during the Song dynasty, the subject was popularised by various artists in the Ming and Qing dynasties. A similar scene painted by the Ming dynasty painter Xiao Yuncong (1596-1673) was sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 26th November 2007, lot 935.

Brushpots carved in a similar style and supported on bracket feet include one in the Tianjin Museum, Tianjin, illustrated in Jade Wares Collected by Tianjin Museum, Beijing, 2012, pl. 188; another from the De An Tang Collection, included in the exhibition A Romance with Jade, Palace Museum, Beijing, 2004, cat. no. 14, and sold in these rooms, 2nd December 1976, lot 731, and again at Christie’s Hong Kong, 29th April 2002, lot 557; two sold in these rooms, the first, 28th October 1992, lot 598, and the second of slightly larger size, 27th October 1993, lot 442; and another slightly larger brushpot, from the collection of Heber R. Bishop, sold in our New York rooms, 16th September 2009, lot 251.