A rare inscribed blue and white ‘Seven sages of the bamboo grove’ brushpot, Qing dynasty, Kangxi period, dated to the renchen year, corresponding to 1712 | 清康熙壬辰年 青花人物故事圖詩文筆筒

Property from a European Family Collection
A rare inscribed blue and white ‘Seven sages of the bamboo grove’ brushpot
Qing dynasty, Kangxi period, dated to the renchen year, in accordance to 1712

decorated around with seven scholars engaged in various pursuits in a bamboo grove: reading books, inspecting scrolls or engaged a game of weiqi, the reverse with a poem and a dedication dated to the renchen year (in accordance to 1712)
Diameter 17.5 cm, 6⅞ in. ; Height 14.5 cm, 5¾ in.
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Collection particulière européenne
Pot à pinceaux en porcelaine bleu blanc à décor de lettrés et inscrit d'un poème, dynastie Qing, époque Kangxi, datée de l'année renchen, correspondant à 1712
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歐洲私人收藏
清康熙壬辰年 青花人物故事圖詩文筆筒
詩文：「丹鳳來儀宇宙春，中天雨露四時新。人間好事惟忠孝，臣報君恩子報親。」
識款：壬辰冬日昌江，謹書恭晉憲章老年兄清玩，弟徐元杰拜具

Condition Report:
General light surface wear and expected firing imperfections. Some light flaking around the rim, otherwise good condition.
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器面見輕微磨痕、正常窰燒瑕疵。口沿四周見少許輕微剝落，此外品相良好。

Catalogue Note:
Kangxi brush pots with a dated inscription are rare. According to Teresa Canepa and Katharine Butler's comprehensive survey of porcelains of the Transitional period with dating evidence, there are less than thirty dated brush pots among porcelains attributed to the 17th century (Leaping the Dragon Gate: The Sir Michael Butler Collection of 17th century Chinese Porcelain, London, 2021). They are also extremely rare in the latter part of the Kangxi period, making this brushpot an important documentary piece for the precise dating of Kangxi porcelains.

The present brush pot is decorated with the ‘Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove’ on the one side and a poem on the other side. The poem reads:

The vermilion phoenix brings cosmic spring,

Celestial rain and dew rejuvenate all four seasons.

In the human world, the best virtues are loyalty and filial piety,

As subjects repay the grace of their ruler, children repay their parents.It is followed by a dedication noting:

Respectfully inscribed on a winter day of the renchen year at Changjiang, to be enjoyed by the honoured elder brother Xianzhang, who has passed the national examination. Presented with reverence by his younger brother Zui Yuanjie.

The ‘Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove’ were a 3rd-century group of literati famous for their Daoist-inspired meetings and literary exchanges. Literary gatherings were a popular theme of brush pot decoration at this period, which clearly reflects the flourishing literati culture of the time. Two brush pots with similar motifs are in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Chen Runmin ed., Qing Shunzhi Kangxi chao qinghua ci [Blue and white porcelain from Qing Shunzhi and Kangxi period], Beijing, 2005, pls. 208 and 209. Compare also two similar blue and white dated brush pots in the Palace Museum, Beijing, one with landscape design, dated to the kuichou year (1673), the other with a figural scene, dated to the jiazi year (1684), both illustrated ibid., pls. 204 and 205; a related famille-verte 'landscape' brush pot, also dated to the renchen year, corresponding to 1712, was sold in our New York rooms, 11th September 2019, lot 906.

Provenance:
Collection acquired by the parents of the present owners from prominent dealers in Europe and the United States during the 1970s and 1980s, and thence by family descent.

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現藏家之父母於1970至80年代得自歐洲及美國重要骨董商，此後家族傳承