A small rootwood brush pot, Qing dynasty

Alan Fung, Hong Kong, 22nd May 1984.

Embracing the natural contours of the swirling roots, this pot exemplifies the scholarly ideal of being at one with the natural world. Pots of this type were indispensable features of a scholar’s desk and have been treasured for centuries by literati and emperors alike. Compare two similar rootwood pots from the imperial collection preserved in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, acc. nos Gu-diao-000009 and Gu-diao-000020; and a third from the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, sold at Christie’s New York, 17th September 2019, lot 101.