A very rare Yixing brushrest, Qing dynasty, Kangxi period | 清康熙 宜興梅枝形筆擱 《陳次偉》款

Brush rests such as this superbly modelled, gnarled prunus branch sprouting small blossoms were a speciality of one of the most famous Yixing potters, Chen Mingyuan, who was active during much of the Kangxi period. Chen Mingyuan used many artist's names and Geoffrey Hedley suggests 'Chen Ciwei', whose seal is found here, was one of them, see Geoffrey Hedley, 'Yi-hsing Ware', in Transactions of the Oriental Ceramic Society, vol. 14, 1936-1937, p. 79. Given the outstanding artistry of the present piece, the fact that it is  accompanied by a high-quality zitan stand, and particularly its similarity to brush rests definitely attributable to Chen Mingyuan, this seems most likely. The seal of Chen Ciwei is also found on other high-quality Yixing pieces, but no potter of that name appears to be expressly recorded. Compare, for instance, with brush rests of similar shape and design, illustrated in Themes and Variations: The Zisha Pottery of Chen Mingyuan, Art Museum, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 1997, cat. no. 31, and figs. 1-6, and further examples published in K. S. Lo, The Stonewares of Yixing from the Ming Period to the Present Day, Hong Kong, 1986, pl. 141, and for a cup with the same 'Chen Ciwei' seal, see ibid., pl. 166.