A FAMILLE-VERTE BISCUIT ‘THREE FRIENDS’ BRUSHPOT QING DYNASTY, KANGXI PERIOD |

naturalistically modeled as a circular grove of bamboo, the noded stalks joined by overlapping leaves forming the rim of the openwork vessel,  a pine tree with a twisting and bent aubergine-glazed trunk and a prunus tree studded with small white blossoms emerging from a gnarled aubergine branches applied around the exterior complete the ‘Three Friends of Winter’, a yellow-glazed vertical scholar’s rock separating the trees on either side, all on a bright emerald-green ground, the unglazed base impressed with a chrysanthemum flowerhead within a double circle, coll. no. 1500.

Christie's Paris, 26th November 2002, lot 98.
A & J Speelman, London, 2003.

Cecile and Michel Beurdeley, A Connoisseur’s Guide to Chinese Ceramics, New York, 1974, pl. 124.

The brushpot is in good overall condition. There are a very few small scattered nicks to the relief work along the sides and a small flake chip to the rim and some minor frits.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

During the Kangxi period potters revisited many earlier techniques adapting, adjusting and ultimately recreating glazes in novel ways. The sancai glaze of the Tang dynasty reappeared and, when applied directly to biscuit, proved particularly well-suited for figures and forms with molded, incised and applied decoration. The technique was especially popular for producing scholar's objects. The present brushpot exemplifies both the taste for archaism and naturalism popular among literati at the time. Simultaneously rustic and refined, this superbly detailed representation of vibrant green bamboo provided a scholar with a useful object, replete with auspicious meaning and an invigorating breath of nature while working indoors. Brushpots in this form were also made with an overall turquoise glaze, for example, a pair in the collection of Anthony Gustav de Rothschild, illustrated in Regina Krahl, The Anthony de Rothschild Collection of Chinese Ceramics, vol. 2, London, 1996, cat. no. 262. A related brushpot, but also turquoise-glazed, from the E. T. Chow Collection sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 27th May 2014, lot 92.