A finely carved 'seven sages' bamboo brushpot Qing Dynasty, 18th/19th Century

the exterior skillfully carved in relief with the 'Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove' engaged in leisurely pursuit in the countryside, attended by three acolytes amid dense bamboo under pine trees and rocky cliffs

The 'Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove' were scholars and artists of the 3rd century A.D. who regularly met in a bamboo grove to drink wine, discuss arts and literature and enjoy unspoiled nature.  By rejecting an official career they came to represent a social movement that advocated individual freedom, self-expression and the Daoist ideology of harmony with nature. 

Similar examples of bamboo brushpots depicting this group of Sages can be found in Masterpieces of Chinese Writing Materials in the National Palace Museum, Taiwan, 1971, pl. 25, and one in the collection of the Hong Kong Museum of Art illustrated in Ip Yee and Laurence Tam, Chinese Bamboo Carving, Part I, Hong Kong, 1978, pl. 70.  Compare also a related bamboo brushpot from the collection of Dr. Ip Yee which was sold in these rooms, 22nd November 1984, lot 858; and another in our London rooms, 12th June 2003, lot 12.