Page 120 - 2019 September 10th Sotheby's Important Chinese Art Jades, Met Museum Irving Collection NYC

47 㖶 䪡 A CARVED AND PIERCED
晽
㛓ġġġ
伶 BAMBOO ‘MEIREN’ BRUSHPOT
Ṣ LATE MING DYNASTY
㦻
敋 of cylindrical form set over three low rectangular feet, well
⚾ carved with a lush garden enclosing two scholar’s studios, one
䫮 studio occupied by a lady seated at a writing desk with brush in
䫺 hand, an attendant waiting nearby and a second approaching
carrying a bowl, the architecture of the studio minutely
described including the paneled walls and the drawn curtains, a
balustraded path nearby leading to a pond surrounded by trees
and rockwork, the second studio at the other side of the pond
backed with a ‘moon window’ carved in openwork to reveal a
tree growing behind, the entire composition carved in high relief
heightening the sense of depth, the Þ ne details depicted in low
relief, the bamboo patinated to a warm russet-brown

Height 6 in., 15.1 cm

PROVENANCE Ը๕
Sotheby’s New York, 16th March 1984, lot 154. 䲸䲬喯⭴㭼IJĺĹĵ⸜Ĵ㚰IJķ㖍炻䶐嘇IJĶĵ
Christie’s New York, 29th November 1990, lot 81. 䲸䲬Ἓ⢓⼿IJĺĺı⸜IJIJ㚰ijĺ㖍炻䶐嘇ĹIJ
Collection of Florence (1920-2018) and Herbert (1917-2016) ἃ伭ΐ㕗ġĩIJĺijıĮijıIJĹĪġ⍲崓ỗ䈡ġĩIJĺIJĸĮijıIJķĪɀ㫸
Irving, no. 2974.
暚ằ⃟㓞啷炻䶐嘇ijĺĸĵ
The craftsman has skillfully created a sense of depth and
realism by carving elements almost completely in the round,
capturing minute details in the surfaces, and e! ectively using
perspective. In addition to contributing to the trompe l’oeil e! ect,
the openwork ‘moon window’ may have been a clever solution to
remove a natural ß aw. 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 National Palace
Museum and The Chinese National Central Museum, Taichung,
Taiwan, Þ rst exhibited at the National Gallery, Washington, D.C.,
1961, cat. no. 225.
$ 20,000-30,000

118 SOTHEBY’S