A BOXWOOD BRUSHPOT 18TH CENTURY

naturalistically carved following the natural form of a prunus trunk, delicately incised with a gnarled prunus branch stretching above the tree hole issuing blossoms and buds, the wood of a rich, golden-brown tone

inscription written in lishu followed by the seal Jin Nong and dated Yongzheng er nian (corresponding to 1724)

The present piece is especially fine for its delicate painting and naturalistic carving.  The prunus blossoms and inscription is signed by Jin Nong (1687-1763), a native of Hangzhou, Zhejiang province.  The pictorial element of delicately incised prunus blossoms is echoed in Jin's own painting of the same subject, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, and illustrated in Wang Zhihai, Collection of Yangzhou Calligraphy and Painting, vol.I, Tianjin, 1996, p. 124.  The four-character inscription 'Bing ji yu gu' can be translated: "with skin fair as snow, and shape fine as jade."

Jin Nong was particularly noted for his connoisseurship in the field of ancient bronzes and stone inscription, but was also a gifted artist, and an avid collector of scrolls and calligraphy.  Prunus blossoms was a subject he especially favoured in his handscrolls and paintings. 

See a similar zitan brushpot of the Ming dynasty, carved in the shape of an old prunus stump, illustrated in Wang Shixiang, Self-Cherished Treasures of Twin-Pine Studio, Beijing, 2003, fig. 9.16.