Page 204 - Christie's Hong Kong May 31, 2017 Important Chinese Ceramics and Art

PROPERTY FROM AN ASIAN PRIVATE COLLECTION

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A VERY RARE BAMBOO LIU QING ‘HORSE 清中期 竹刻留青浴馬圖尚勛款筆筒

BATHING’ BRUSH POT 來源
香港佳士得，2015年6月3日，拍品2841號
SIGNED SHANG XUN, QING DYNASTY, 18TH-19TH DYNASTY
圓筒形，通體以留青技法刻一長髯老叟立於松下，悠然觀望侍從在淙淙
The brush pot is exquisitely carved in the liu qing technique, 溪間洗擦馬匹。陰刻「尚勛」篆書款。
partially reserving the bamboo skin, to depict an aged man
standing underneath a gnarled pine tree, overseeing his servant 此筆筒構圖巧妙，竹刻家故意把人物圖案集中在一面，保留大量留白空
bathing a horse in the stream. On the embankment is carved with 間，佈局疏朗不紊亂，細節部位更是刻畫細微，別具神韻。
the signature Shang Xun.
4 ¡ in. (11.2 cm.) high 尚勛擅刻「留青陽文」，除本拍品以外，迄今出版過刻「尚勛」款的竹
雕作品只有五件，其中三件均為留青器，包括現藏廣東民間工藝館的
HK$1,200,000-2,600,000 US$160,000-340,000 「溪船納涼圖」筆筒，刻「尚勛」款、藏上海博物館的「桐陰煮茗圖」
筆筒（圖一），刻留青陽文「尚勛」款、及王世襄發表過的「載鹿浮
PROVENANCE 槎」筆筒，陰刻「丁卯尚勛製」款。另外兩件為日本私人收藏的淺浮雕
「載鹿浮槎」臂擱，陰刻篆書「嘉慶二年歲次丁巳仲夏」款，及北京故
Sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 3 June 2015, lot 2841 宮博物院藏的淺浮雕「竹林七賢八駿圖」筆筒，刻「尚勛」款。至今未
有尚勛生平、里貫或字號之記錄，但傳世品中有「嘉慶二年」款，王世
The carving on the current brush pot is remarkably intricate. Details 襄依「竹林七賢八駿圖」筆筒的構圖及技法推斷尚勛為嘉道年間人物，
such as the folds of the figures, flow of the river and nodules of the pine 見1987年北京出版《中國美術全集 - 工藝美術編11 - 竹木牙角器》，
tree bark are all exceptionally well rendered. The composition is simple 頁10。
yet well-defined - the carver deliberately worked only on one side of the
brush pot, leaving a large uncarved space, capturing the literati ideal of
eschewing complexity and ornateness.

Aside from this brush pot, only five bamboo pieces bearing the
signature of Shang Xun have been published to date, among which
three are carved in the liu qing technique. The first is a brush pot in
the collection of the Guangdong Folk Art Museum, carved with a
riverscape; the second is another brush pot in the Shanghai Museum
Collection, carved with figures preparing tea under wutong trees (fig. 1);
the third is a brush pot, published by Wang Shixiang in Zhongguo
meishu quanji - 11 - zhumu yajiao qi, Beijing, 1987, p. 10. The other two
examples are carved in low relief. One is a wrist wrest in a Japanese
private collection, bearing a Shang Xun signature as well as a ‘Jiaqing
second year’ date. The other one is a brush pot in the Beijing Palace
Museum Collection, carved with two different scenes comprising the
Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove and Eight Horses.

To date no textual record about Shang Xun’s life has been found,
though from surviving examples it is discernible that Shang Xun was
a highly accomplished carver especially in the liu qing technique. The
‘Jiaqing second year’ date on the aforementioned wrist rest allows us
to date him to the mid-Qing dynasty. Based on the style of the Palace
Museum brush pot, the eminent scholar Wang Shixiang suggested that
Shang Xun was active during the Jiaqing to Daoguang period, see ibid.

mark fig. 1 Collection of the Shanghai Museum
款識 圖一 上海博物館藏品

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