Page 352 - 2019 September 13th Christie's New York Important Chinese Works of Art

(another view)

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A FINE AND RARE BLUE AND WHITE BRUSH POT
KANGXI PERIOD (1662-1722)
The cylindrical brush pot is fnely decorated with an antlered stag and a doe
standing on a rocky promontory on one side and a pair of standing cranes on
the other side, all within a continuous scene of a riverscape interspersed with
pines and grasses, and painted with a moon and a two-character mark shu gu
(following the ancients) followed by two seals.
7º in. (18.5 cm.) diam.
$50,000-70,000
PROVENANCE
Barry Sainsbury Collection, prior to 1991.
Dr. Lowell S. Young Collection, San Francisco, no. 44, acquired 23 June 1991.
EXHIBITED
London, Marchant, The Dr. Lowell Young Collection. Ming & Qing Blue & White
Porcelain, 1-15 November 2012.
LITERATURE
Marchant, The Dr. Lowell Young Collection. Ming & Qing Blue & White Porcelain,
London, 2012, pp. 62-63, no. 27.

The subject matter of the present brush pot is very auspicious, with wishes
for longevity represented by the cranes, and wishes for success in imperial
examinations represented by the deer. Together, the cranes and deer also
form a rebus for long life, liuhe tongchun (the universe is enjoying longevity).
The depiction of the deer as a pair, and the cranes also as a pair, together
with pine trees, symbolize wishes for happiness in marriage and longevity.
Dr. Lowell S. Young, San Francisco, with the present brush pot (top right).
Image Courtesy of Dr. Lowell S. Young
It is rare to fnd a Kangxi blue and white brush pot decorated with animals,
such as the deer and crane, as on the current brush pot, rather than fgures
in a landscape or on a terrace. This subject matter is more often seen on
vases from the Kangxi period, such as the two in the Palace Museum, Beijing,
painted with a similarly vibrant blue, illustrated by Chen Runmin (ed.), Qing
Shunzhi Kangxi Chao Qinghua Ci, Beijing, 2005, pp. 476-77, nos. 307 and 308.
清康熙 青花 「鶴鹿同春」 筆筒

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