A fine and very rare inlaid brushpot Late Ming Dynasty

of square section and on a raised foot, each of the four sides finely inlaid with mother of pearl, soapstone, coral and ivory within rectangular panels, one side with a 10-character inscription with a square sealmark, another with precious objects, another with Gui Xing, the Daoist God of Literature, standing with one foot on the head of a large carp with stellar constellation above, and the last with three sages amid rockwork and pine exalting a heron flying above

J.J. Lally and Co.

Brushpots and boxes inlaid with soapstone, mother-of-pearl and coral first appear in the middle of the 16^th century and were produced throughout the later Ming and the early Qing period. The present example is characteristic of the late Ming dynasty in its depiction of the Three Star Gods hailing the arrival the crane and the auspicious grouping of antiques, both recurring subjects in the scholarly works of art and lacquer of the period. The quality of the carving is particularly fine and the condition exceptional on this example, with no apparent losses to the inlays.

The evocative poem in grass script inlaid in mother-of-pearl reads long xu chun zi xiu feng wei ri sheng hua, which translates as a poetic reference to the brush held by a skilled calligrapher and painter: “ The dragon’s whiskers brings the elegance of the spring, the tail of the phoenix makes the flowers bloom.”