A SUPERB 'ODE TO THE RED CLIFF' BAMBOO BRUSHPOT, SIGNED INK VILLA (QIAO LIN) QING DYNASTY, DATED 1670

carved around the sides with a continuous figural landscape depicting Su Shi’s first visit to the Red Cliff , the scene dramatically rendered with craggy rocks and crashing waves as Su crosses with his companions on his boat, signed 'Made by Ink Villa, Mr Qiao' with seal Qiao Lin shi on a section of the cliff face and dated to the gengxu year of Kangxi (1670), the bamboo beautifully patinated to a warm reddish-brown colour

The brushpot is in good overall condition. There are some light surface scratches in an approx 3 cm. area near the rim. There are a few old minute nicks to the rim and footrim, including a flake of approx 0.4 cm and a minute dent on the edge of the mouth rim, together with some natural age cracks extending from the footrim. There are a few expected ink stains scattered around the interior rim. The carving is beautifully executed and very dramatic.
"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."

A brushpot carved in openwork with a similar rendering of this subject, in the Simon Kwan collection, was included in the exhibition Ming and Qing Bamboo, Art Gallery, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 2000, cat. no. 24; another was sold in these rooms, 25th May 1979, lot 874; and a third was sold in our New York rooms, 26th February 1982, lot 315.

The inscription can be translated as 'Made by the Hand of Ink Villa, Mr Qiao', and is dated to the day after the Double Ninth Festival in the gengxu year of the Kangxi period, corresponding to the 22nd October 1670. Mr Qiao may refer to the master carver Qiao Lin, a native of Rugao in Jiangsu province and believed to have been active during the 18th century. The dating on the brushpot thereby raises the possibility of various interpretations as it references the early years of the Kangxi period, including the possibility that Qiao Lin could have been active at an earlier date. Works signed Qiao Lin are rare although a brushpot attributed to him, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, is illustrated in the Museum's website http://www.dpm.org.cn/shtml/117/@/117812.html.

Known as a learned scholar and a connoisseur of ancient seal and clerical script, Qiao also excelled at carving bamboo seals. In the early 19th century, Huang Xueyi in his Donggao yinren zhuan [Biographies of Donggao seal carvers],  Xiling yinshe paiyin ben ed., Hangzhou, 1830, 8a-9b, recorded that 'All his life Qiao produced bamboo seals, one of which Minister Peng Yunmei [Peng Yuanrui (1731-1803)] once submitted to the court as tribute. When the emperor saw it, he admired it and asked whose signature "Ink Villa" was at the side of the seal in small characters. A courier replied that there was someone called "Ink Villa" during the Song dynasty who was an excellent seal carver. The Emperor then ordered attendants to compose a bamboo root seal song to record the event, but no one ever realised that this "Ink Villa" was not the Ink Villa of the Song era'.