Page 260 - Imperial Sale Chinese Works of Art June 1 2016 HK

3374 Continued

This superb brush pot was formerly in the collection of Chen Keli, 此筆筒為二十世紀初重要宜興砂器藏家陳克立舊藏。在《陽
a major collector of Yixing wares in the early 20th century. In the 羨砂器精品圖譜》的序中，陳克立自述因受到其叔岳、清末
preface of his catalogue in which this brush pot is illustrated, Chen 著名外交官及收藏家龔心釗（1870-1949）之啟發而好宜興砂
recalled that he first developed his passion for Yixing wares through 器，並在戰後透過榮寶齋收集大量宜興精品。
the inspiration from his relative, the pre-eminent late Qing scholar and
collector Gong Xinzhao (1870-1949), and that he acquired the bulk of 本筆筒上印「楊季初」方款。楊季初，清雍正、乾隆時宜興
his collection through the dealership Rongbaozhai. 名家，精通泥繪。清人唐仲冕於《重刊荊溪縣志》（清光緒刻
本）卷四中記：「楊季初，菱花壺甚工，與陳漢文同時。」
The artist of this brush pot, Yang Jichu, is recorded in Chongkan
jingxi xianzhi (The Republished Jingxi Gazetteer), compiled by Tang 北京故宮博物院藏一件印「楊季初」款的宜興彩繪山水圖筆
Zhongmian during the Qing dynasty. Yang is noted as being active 筒，同以紫泥為地，風格及構圖與本筆筒非常相近，見2008
during the same period as Chen Hanwen, mid 17th-early 18th Century. 年上海出版《故宮博物院藏文物珍藏大系 -紫砂器》，圖版
Like Chen Hanwen, Yang Jichu is famous for his work on Yixing wares, 116號。故宮另藏一件楊季初款堆泥彩繪筆筒，題材為梅軒晤
especially those, like the current brush pot, which are painted in 陽圖，見前揭書，圖版115號；及一件風格相似但印「大清乾
coloured slips. 隆年製」款的例子，圖版113號。另外可參考兩件印楊季初款
的宜興彩繪筆筒，第一件為Robert H. Blumenfield舊藏，2012
Yixing brush pots decorated with subtle and refined paintings in 年3月22日於紐約佳士得拍賣，拍品1246號；另一件為好善簃
natural slip colours as seen on the current brush pot are extremely 藏，2011年11月28日於香港邦瀚斯拍賣，拍品208號。
rare. Two slip-painted brush pots decorated in a similar painterly style
with landscapes bearing the seals of Yang Jichu are preserved in the
Palace Museum, Beijing, and are illustrated in The Complete Collection
of Treasures of the Palace Museum - Purple Sandy Ware, Beijing, 2008,
nos. 115 and 116. Both are dated to the Qianlong period. Interestingly,
the Beijing Palace Museum also has a brush pot painted in similar
style with a scholar seated in a thatch-roofed pavilion overlooking a
lake beside a willow tree which bears a Qianlong mark, illustrated ibid.,
no. 113.

Compare also to two other brush pots decorated in similar technique
with Yang Jichu seals, one formerly in the Robert H. Blumenfield
Collection, sold at Christie’s New York, 22 March 2012, lot 1246;
the other from the Mr. and Mrs. Gerard Hawthorn Collection, sold
at Bonhams Hong Kong, 28 November 2011, lot 208. Yixing brush
pots with slip-painted landscape decoration on a dark ground and
bearing the seal of Yang Jichu are preserved in the collections of
both the Suzhou Museum and the Yangzhou Museum illustrated in
Zhongguo taoci quanji -23 -Yixing, Tokyo and Shanghai, nos. 24 and
70, respectively.

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