A RARE INSCRIBED BAMBOO BRUSHPOT BY LIU QI QING DYNASTY, 17TH / 18TH CENTURY

of slightly elliptical form supported on a four feet, finely incised around the sides with two large rocks and tall bamboo sprays, the reverse carved with a four-verses poetic inscription in running script from an essay, the Huozhu ji (Account of  Flourishing Bamboo Grove), by Liu Kuanfu and signed Changfu the finely grained bamboo of pale brown colour subtly speckled with a fine gold mist, silk pouch

The bamboo brushpot is in good overall condition with a few expected light scratches and minor stains or dents on the interior and exterior. There are a few natural age cracks extending from the base. There are a couple of traces of red paint on the rounded rim which can clean.
"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 inscription on this brushpot is an excerpt from the essay Guozhu ji [An Account of Bamboo Stewardship] by the Tang scholar Liu Kuanfu, recorded in the Quan Tangwen [Complete prose of the Tang], Zhonghua shuju ed., Beijing, 1983, 740:15a-16a, and can be translated as follows:

'So firm it can match the pine and cypress; so sturdy it can lightly ride the snow and frost.
When dense it can moor the bright mist; when sparse it can let nocturnal moonlight trickle in.'

Liu Qi, zi Hanshu and hao Changfu, was active in Jiading during the Kangxi (1661-1722) and Yongzheng (1722-1735) periods. According to Jin Yuanyu in Zhuren lu [Record of Bamboo Carvers] of 1807, he was a student in a state Confucian School from 1681, and was later sent to the National University in 1732. Jin praised his carving as giving the impression of casual spontaneity and naturalism.

Compare a brushpot incised with branches of bamboo and a poetic inscription, included in Paul Moss, Documentary Chinese Works of Art. In Scholar’s Taste, London, Sydney L. Moss Ltd., 1983, pl. 55, and sold in these rooms, 20th May 1981, lot 905; and another with various bamboo branches growing from rocks, in the Simon Kwan collection, included in the exhibition Ming and Qing Bamboo, Art Gallery, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 2000, cat. no. 91.