A BAMBOO 'SEATED SAGE' BRUSHPOT QING DYNASTY, 18TH CENTURY

of cylindrical form and supported on three short feet, the exterior carved in low relief with a sage seated on a fur rug with his weight on his right hand and his head turned towards his left, the fur rug delicately rendered with fine incisions, the bamboo of a warm reddish-brown colour

Lai Loy & Son, Hong Kong.

A closely related brushpot, illustrated by Ip Yee and Laurence Tam, Chinese Bamboo Carving, Part II, Hong Kong, 1982, cat. no. 16., was subsequently in the collection of Thomas Navratil and illustrated in Escape from the Dusty World. Chinese Paintings and Literati Works of Art, Sydney L. Moss Ltd., London, 1999, cat. no. 21. Inscribed by a certain Yifu, whom the authors expound was a follower of Wu Zhifan, the brushpot exhibits similar low-relief carving as the current brushpot. Compare also a brushpot carved with Liu Hai in similar low-relief technique, sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 28th November 2005, lot 1490.