the cylindrical body rising to a slightly flared rim, the exterior deftly carved in low relief with a continuous scene depicting various sages engaging in various pursuits in a mountainous landscape set with jagged rockwork and arboured with large pine trees, two elderly sages depicted dressed in loose robes and conversing with each other, another group of three sages gathered around a table with one reading a book, the base of a large work carved with a seal mark reading Shen Junyu
This charming brushpot is notable for its delicately carved low-relief decoration. This technique, known as
yan ke, became especially popular during the late Ming (1368-1644) and early Qing dynasties, as it allowed carvers to achieve a painterly effect that resembled woodblock illustrations. The linearity of the carving of this piece and the rendering of the contrasting textures, from the aged bark of the pine tree to the jagged rockwork and the loose clothing of the figures, are characteristic of contemporary woodblock illustrations.
An ivory brushpot carved in low-relief with scholars in landscape is illustrated in S.E. Lucas, The Catalogue of Sasson Chinese Ivories, vol. 3, London, 1950, pl. 689, together with another related example, pl. 673. See also a brushpot carved in a similar linear style with a scholar in a pavilion signed Zhang Xihuang, published in Zhu mu ya jiao qi zhenshang [Appreciation of Bamboo, Wood, Ivory and Horn], Tainan, 1995, pl. 149; another carved with the motif of the ‘Red Cliff’, in the Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, included in the Oriental Ceramic Society exhibition Chinese Ivories from the Shang to the Qing, British Museum, London, 1984, cat. no. 174; and a third with a scholar and his attendant, sold in our New York rooms, 16th March 1984, lot 183.
