An unusual and finely-carved 'famille-rose' brushpot iron-red seal mark and period of Jiaqing

the cylindrical body well carved in relief and delicately enamelled with a continuous serene lakeside landscape of thatched huts, bridges and waterfalls scattered amid trees and dramatic mountains in shades of blue and green, their high peaks rising in the misty distance, and rocky surfaces accented with texture strokes, with clouds drifting over the calm rippling water of the lake, the interior and base in turquoise enamel, the base inscribed with a six-character seal mark in iron-red, the rim gilt

Sotheby's Hong Kong, 30th October 2002, lot 254.

The same landscape scene can be seen on a famille-rose brushpot of similar size, also of Jiaqing mark and period, but without the relief and with a white glaze inside, illustrated in John Ayers, Chinese Ceramics in the Baur Collection, Geneva, 1999, vol.2, pl.242.

There are numerous examples of brushpots carved with geometric designs, but it is extremely rare to find a porcelain brushpot such as the present lot that has been carved and painted in detailed relief with a naturalistic subject-matter.