AN INSCRIBED BAMBOO 'DRAGON AND PHOENIX' BRUSHPOT QING DYNASTY, QIANLONG PERIOD, SIGNED ZHAO CHU, DATED 1746

meticulously carved with a slightly curved cylindrical body, the exterior divided into three main registers with three thin raised bands extending diagonally across the surface simulating the scales of a dragon's tail, the top register with a phoenix soaring with outstretched wings, the central register with a four-character inscription in oracle bone script reading longxiang fengwu followed by a seal mark bingyin nian and a poetical inscription in semi-cursive script followed by a seal mark reading Zhao Chu, the third register with a scaly dragon writhing sinuously next to a flaming pearl above tempestuous waves amidst lingzhi-shaped clouds, the surface smoothly patinated

Spink & Son Ltd., London.

Ip Yee and Laurence Tam, Chinese Bamboo Carving, Part I, Hong Kong, 1978, pl. 69.
Bamboo & Wood Carvings of China and the East, Spink & Son, London, 1979, pl. 32.

As visible in the catalogue photo, there are several old vertical age cracks to the surface. These are stable, and have not extended or deepened since the Hong Kong Museum of art publication in 1978, where they appear the same. There are natural crevices to the interior, and a 0.8cm crevice to the exterior visible to the left of the phoenix. Other minor surface wear and minute chips to the inside of the foot.
"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."

Carved from renmian bamboo (Phyllostachys aurea), this brushpot is notable for the way the craftsman has skilfully incorporated the natural shape and diagonal nodes of the bamboo into the overall design. The Tao An meng yi [Dreams of Tao An] records that already in the 16th century brushpots carved by the master bamboo carver, Pu Zhongqian, of Jinling ‘preserved the natural twists and bends of the bamboo roots with the master only adding a few touches to complete the form. Even these would fetch high price’ (see Simon Kwan, Ming and Qing Bamboo, Art Gallery, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 2000, p. 246). This effect was also sought after in other materials; see a boxwood brushpot modelled in the form of a bamboo section, included in the Oriental Ceramics Society exhibition Arts from the Scholar's Studio, Fung Ping Shan Museum, Hong Kong, 1986, cat. no. 34.

It is unusual to find brushpots of this type decorated with a dragon and phoenix, and are more commonly known left undecorated or carved with calligraphy; compare a plain example from the Simon Kwan collection, included op. cit., cat. no. 50; two brushpots signed Zhu Xi, the first included in the exhibition In Scholars’ Taste. Documentary Chinese Works of Art, Sydney L. Moss, London, 1983, cat. no. 51, and the other exhibited in Escape from the Dusty World. Chinese Paintings and Literati Works of Art, Sydney L. Moss, London, 1999, cat. no. 30; and a fourth example, incised with a landscape and signed ‘Shichuan zhushi’, dated 1849, included in the exhibition Chinese Bamboo Carving, Part II, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1982, cat. no. 33. Compare also a brushpot similarly carved in shallow relief with Buddhist lions divided by the bamboo’s parallel ridges, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, published in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Bamboo, Wood, Ivory and Rhinoceros Horn Carvings, Shanghai, 2002, pl. 60; and another carved with a pine tree, illustrated in Zhu mu ya jiao qi zhenshang [Appreciation of bamboo, wood, ivory and horn], Tainan, 1995, pl. 45.