A bamboo carved 'meiren' brushpot, Late Ming dynasty | 明末　竹雕美人樓閣圖筆筒

Sotheby's New York, 16th March 1984, lot 154.

Christie's New York, 29th November 1990, lot 81.

Collection of Florence (1920-2018) and Herbert (1917-2016) Irving, no. 2974.

Sotheby's New York, 10th September 2019, lot 47.

The craftsman has skilfully created a sense of depth and realism by carving elements almost completely in the round, capturing minute details in the surfaces, and effectively using perspective. In addition to contributing to the trompe l'oeil effect, the openwork 'moon window' may have been a clever solution to remove a natural flaw. It also serves a third function by inviting the viewer to look beyond the scene depicted and even towards the brushpot's contents. For a brushpot with a very similar subject, see one included in the exhibition Chinese Art Treasures: A Selected Group of Objects from The Chinese Palace Museum and The Chinese Central Museum, Taichung, Taiwan, first exhibited at the National Gallery, Washington, D.C., 1961, cat. no. 225. 

來源

紐約蘇富比1984年3月16日，編號154

紐約佳士得1990年11月29日，編號81

佛羅倫斯（1920至2018年）及赫伯特（1917至2016年）．歐雲伉儷收藏，編號2974

紐約蘇富比2019年9月10日，編號47