Page 97 - Bonhams Chinese Art London May 2013

Following the popularity of the Ode to the Red Cliff, images of the poet
Su Dongpo in his boat under the cliff also became a very popular motif in
Chinese art, easily recognisable whether accompanied by excerpts from
the Ode itself, tribute poetry such as on the present lot, or simply by the
image of the boat by a cliff without any explanatory inscription. A famille
verte dish from the Kangxi period with a related depiction of Su Dongpo is
illustrated by Wang Qingzheng, Kangxi Porcelain Wares from the Shanghai
Museum Collection, Hong Kong, 1998, no.109.
Compare a blue and white brushpot with inscriptions from the Ode to the
Red Cliff which sold at Sotheby’s New York, 20 March 2006, lot 312. See
also a famille verte rouleau vase inspired by the Su Dongpo poem sold at
Sotheby’s New York, 30 March 2006, lot 344.

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