A SILVER-INLAID ZITAN BRUSHPOT 17TH CENTURY

of cylindrical form supported on three bracket feet rising to a mouthrim with foliated scrollwork inlaid with silver wires, crisply and elegantly carved in relief on one side with a tree extending flowering branches above sprays of lingzhi and bamboo sprouting from rockwork, the reverse inlaid with a poem in seal script, yu rui jian han cong ma se, yun ya wei yi chun followed by a square seal reading Meigong,the fine-grained wood of a deep brown colour

Notable for its delicate depiction of a gnarled prunus tree that extends across the surface of the vessel, this elegant brushpot belongs to a group of scholar’s objects made from precious timbers and inlaid with poetic verses produced during the late Ming and early Qing dynasty. For a brushpot of this type see one, attributed to Wen Fu, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Bamboo. Wood. Ivory and Rhinoceros Horn Carving, Shanghai, 2007, pl. 23; and another, attributed to the 18th century, sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 24th October 1993, lot 573. See also a silver-inlaid cup, modelled in the form of a tree trunk and carved with Tao Yuanming, in the Shanghai Museum, included in the exhibition The Chinese Scholar’s Studio. Artistic Life in the Late Ming Period, The Asia Society Galleries, New York, 1987, cat. no. 60; and another of hexagonal shape, sold in these rooms, 27th April 1993, lot 334.

This brushpot bears the seal mark of the Ming scholar Chen Jiru (1558-1639), zi Zhongchun, hao Mei Gong. A native of Huating in Jiangsu province, he was known for his skill at composing poetry and writing calligraphy. A close friend to the painter and scholar Dong Qichang (1555-1636), Chen is attributed a large number of published poems, essays and letters, 32 of which were included in the Siku quanshu [The complete library in four sections], compiled during the Qianlong Emperor’s reign.