AN INSCRIBED BAMBOO BRUSHPOT SIGNED QINGXI SHANREN QING DYNASTY, 19TH CENTURY, DATED TO THE YICHOU YEAR

raised on three low feet, with an attractive patina of a golden-brown tone, the exterior engraved vertically in running script with the Tang dynasty text Loushi Ming ('My Humble Cottage'), followed by the date and signature yichou chun ri shu yu Erquan Tingsong Shan Guan, Qingxi Shanren zhi ('written at the Mountain House of Pine Listening by the Double Springs on a spring day in the yichou year, made by Qingxi Shanren', corresponding to 1805 or 1865)

Apart from typical age cracks and minor wear on the rim the condition is very good. The actual colour is more chestnut-brown and less yellow that the illustration would suggest in the catalogue.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The poem on this brushpot is by the Tang philosopher and poet Liu Yuxi (772-842) titled My Humble Cottage. It may be translated as follows:

          A mountain does not need to be high.
          If immortals dwell there, it will attain fame.
          A river does not need to be deep.
          If dragons dwell there, it will have numinous powers.
          This is a humble cottage,
          But my virtue makes it fragrant. 
          Traces of moss climb the steps, green. 
          The colour of the plants comes through the blinds, verdent.
          Chatting and laughing, great scholars come here;
          Among those who come and go, there are no ignorant louts.
          I can tune my plain zither or read the Diamond Sutra;
          Free from the cacophony of stings and pipes, 
          Free from the wearying toil of official paperwork.
          In Nanyang, there was the thatched cottage of Zhuge Liang;
          In Western Shu, there was the pavilion of Ziyun:
          As Confucius said:There is nothing low [about a place where a man of virtue dwells].

Compare a bamboo brushpot incised in running script (xingshu) with a poem by Wang Wei (699-759) and similarly bearing the signature of Qingxi shanren sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 28th November 2005, lot 1479. Another brushpot carved with a scene of Literary Gathering at the Orchid Pavilion in low relief and signed Qingxi shanren, from the collection of Dr. Ip Yee, is illustrated in Ip Yee and Laurence C.S. Tam, Chinese Bamboo Carving, Hong Kong, 1978 and 1982, part 1, pl. 79, where the cyclical mark on the piece is dated to either 1807 or 1867. For a discussion of bamboo carvings, including those signed by the artist bearing the name Qingxi see Wang Shixiang, ‘Pushuo mili de Qing xisong xikuan zhuke’, Shoucang jia, vol. 19, 1996, pp. 20-26.