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A ‘ZITAN’ BRUSHPOT The thick walls, carved from a single block of wood, and the
17TH / 18TH CENTURY plain surface are admirable features consistent with late Ming
and early Qing dynasty hardwood brushpots. The lack of
of circular section, the thick-walled vessel with plain straight carved decoration draws attention to the inherent qualities of
sides enclosed between a raised band just below the gently the rich, nely grained wood. The articulation of the rims, the
concave mouthrim and a narrower, tapered let with beaded rounded let of the in-stepped base highlights the elegant line
lower edge just above the countersunk base, all raised on of the form as light hits the lustrous surface. A zitan brushpot
a short tapered foot, the densely grained wood of a dark of smaller proportion, but similar form, was excavated from
reddish-brown tone, with distinctive reddish-gold ecking, and the Wanli Period tomb of Zhu Shoucheng near Shanghai and is
a lustrous patina illustrated in The Chinese Scholar’s Studio, Artistic Life in the
Height 6 in., 15.3 cm Late Ming Dynasty, An Exhibition from the Shanghai Museum,
The Asia Society Galleries, New York, 1987, cat. no. 69N.
$ 20,000-30,000
IMPORTANT CHINESE ART 219
