Page 81 - Bonhams, Fine Chinese Art, London November 3, 2022

4. A boy is scrubbing a sycamore tree with a cloth
and a bucket by his side whilst a seated scholar
is reading a book. This represents Ni Zan (1301-
1374 AD) a famous Chinese painter during the
late Yuan and early Ming dynasty, considered one
of the ‘Four Masters of the Yuan Dynasty’. Ni was
born into a wealthy family and legend has it that
he had two servants responsible for scrubbing and
cleaning spotlessly the four treasures of the study;
cleaning seating areas after the guests have left,
and sweeping his clothes. In addition, the servants
also had to scrub clean the sycamore tree outside
the study, including the trunk, branches and leaves,
morning and evening. 5

And on the box:

5. A scholar is bowing to a rock with an attendant
holding a fan standing behind him. This scene
depicts Mi Fu (1051-1107 AD), a Song dynasty
painter, poet and calligrapher, who was obsessed
with collecting stones - here shown in supplicant
poise, bowing to a scholar’s rock.

6. A sage with an attendant holding a branch of
plum blossom amidst rockwork and pine. This could
relate to the scene of ‘seeking inspiration amongst
plum blossoms’, a subject painted by Jin Nong
(1687-1763 AD). The prunus, also known as plum
blossom, is first amongst ‘the Four Gentlemen’, and
is a metaphor for the virtues of a scholar: resolute,
noble and pure. 6

7. A male attendant is presenting a ruyi sceptre to
a seated scholar holding a cup below a tree in a
mountainous landscape. This could represent Li
Bai (701-762 AD), an acclaimed poet and one of
the most prominent poets during the Tang dynasty.
Together with the famous poet Du Fu, Li Bai, known
for his fondness of wine and many poems on the
subject, was part of the group the former called
‘Eight Immortals of the Wine Cup’.

8. A scholar is playing the qin below bamboo with
an attendant carrying a tray. Playing the qin is one
of the Four Scholarly Accomplishments, alongside
calligraphy, playing weiqi and painting. The scene
may represent Ji Kang (223-262 AD), a scholar, poet
and Daoist philosopher, musician and alchemist,
who was a renowned qin composer and player. He 7
was one of the ‘Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove’
who kept away from the dangerous politics devoting
themselves to art and refinement.

The underside of the box is decorated with
scattered plum blossoms on a turquoise cracked-
ice ground. This design became popular during
the Kangxi period and can be found on cloisonné
enamel pieces of various forms, including a Kangxi
altar set, comprising an incense burner, a pair of
candlesticks and a pair of vases, in the National
Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated in Enamel Ware
of the Ch’ing Dynasties, Taipei, 1999, pp.97-100,
pls.26-28. This design symbolises the arrival of
Spring which is in harmony with the design of
the cover.

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