Page 41 - Christie's London Fine Chinese Ceramics Nov. 2019

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A BLUE AND WHITE BRUSH POT, BITONG
TRANSITIONAL PERIOD, MID-17TH CENTURY
The exterior of the body is fnely decorated with a continuous
scene depicting 'Washing the Elephant', sao xiang, with one
servant holding a broom and a long hook standing on the back
of the animal beside a water-flled wooden tub. Another fgure
wearing loose robes and military boots watches the scene from
beneath a tree, all between an incised band to the mouth rim and
the foot rim.
7¡ in. (18.8 cm.) high
£8,000-12,000 US$10,000-15,000
€9,100-14,000
PROVENANCE:
With Vanderven & Vanderven Oriental Art, the Netherlands, 25
November 1998.
The scene on the present brush pot, sao xiang, which literally
means 'sweeping the elephant', is a pun on the Buddhist notion
of the illusionary nature of the phenomenal world. Illustrations of
this scene were very popular during the late Ming and early Qing
period, especially on porcelain but also on other works of art and
paintings.
For two small brush pots decorated with versions of this scene
see Julia B. Curtis, 'Decorative Schemes for New Markets: The
Origins and Use of Narrative Themes on 17th Century Chinese
Porcelain', International Ceramics Fair & Seminar, London, 1997,
p.18, fg. 1, and S. Marchant & Son, Exhibition of Chongzhen-
Shunzhi Transitional Porcelain From A Private American Collection,
London, 2007, p. 5, no. 1. Another pear-shaped vase with the
same motif in the Julia and John Curtis collection was sold at
Christie's New York, 16 March 2015, lot 3569.

明末/清初 青花洗象圖筆筒

來源:
荷蘭Vanderven & Vanderven Oriental Art, 1998年11月25日
瑞士艾爾伯．梵達倫及莉奧妮．梵達倫伉儷珍藏

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