Page 228 - Important Chinese Art Hong Kong Sotheby's April 2017

3654

A RARE CARVED BAMBOO WRISTREST 清十七至十八世紀
BY ZHANG XIHUANG, 張希黃製竹刻留青山水人物圖臂擱
QING DYNASTY, 17TH – 18TH CENTURY 《希黃》款、「張宗略印」、「希黃」印

of cylindrical-segment form, the convex side delicately carved 題識：
in the liuqing technique with a tranquil landscape scene 脫卻朝衣便東去，青雲不及白雲高。
depicting a river stream with a rocky promontory at the front （唐代薛逢〈送蕭俛相公歸山〉詩）
and mountainous cliffs in the background, the foreground
further depicted with two conversing figures beneath a tall
pine tree, the river with three figures on a boat, the upper
left section of the wristrest carved in running script with a
fourteen-character excerpt from Xue Feng’s poem, denoting
a preference of a reclusive life over one of high stature and
accomplishments, followed by the characters Xihuang of
Zhang Xihuang and two seal marks reading Zhang Zhonglue
yin (‘impressed by Zhang Zhonglue’) and Xihuang respectively,
the surface lustrously patinated
19.1 cm, 7½ in.

HK$ 800,000-1,000,000

US$ 104,000-129,000

The present wristrest is executed in the liuqing technique, a
method of carving that manipulates the contrasting colours of
the smooth greenish bamboo skin and the darker fibrous inner
layers. On this wristrest the outer skin of the bamboo branch
has been reserved for the landscape scene. The elegant
contrast between light and dark tones is further enhanced
through a dyeing process in which the green skin of the
material turns into a golden light brown colour while the inner
layer of the worked bamboo develops into a rich darker brown.

Zhang Zonglue, hao Xihuang, was one of China’s most
outstanding master carvers and especially renowned for his
use of the liuqing technique. A native of Jiangyin in southern
Jiangsu province, Zhang was active in the late Ming and early
Qing periods.

For two related examples in the Shanghai Museum, see Literati
Spirit. Art of Chinese Bamboo Carving, Shanghai, 2001, cat.
nos 143 and 145. For examples sold at auction, see a wristrest
from the Norton Collection, illustrating a river landscape, sold
in our London rooms, 26th March 1963, lot 17, and again, 24th
February 1970, lot 63.

226 SOTHEBY’S 蘇富比