A White and Russett Jade 'Immortal' Brushpot. Estimate: £250,000 - 350,000. Sold for: £1,553,250 ($2,479,453). Photo: Sotheby's.

LONDON.-Sotheby’s London sale of Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art today brought a total of £12.9 million / $20.5 million / €16.1 million, more than doubling the pre-sale low estimate for the entire auction (est. £6,405,000-9,289,000). Leading the sale was a white and russet jade Qing Dynasty Imperial “Immortal” Brushpot. The newly discovered work, notable for its large size, and exquisitely carved with scenes from the “Land of Immortals”, sold for £1,553,250 / $2,479,453 / €1,941,258, far surpassing its pre-sale estimate of £250,000-350,000. 

Robert Bradlow, Sotheby’s London’s Head of Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art said: “We are thrilled with the results of today’s sale, which follow on from the success of the sales staged by Sotheby’s in Hong Kong last month. We saw activity from across Asia, and the results demonstrate the continued demand for well-priced superior-quality works of art in this collecting category.” 

 A White and Russett Jade 'Immortal' Brushpot. Qing Dynasty, Qianlong period. Photo: Sotheby's.

of cylindrical form, supported on four ruyi-shaped feet, deftly carved in undercut relief with three immortals each holding an attribute including a staff, a ruyi sceptre and a fan, followed by a deer sheltered in a grotto, all set in an idyllic landscape with a pavilion emerging from gnarled pine and lingzhi issuing from jagged rockwork beside a waterfall, carved to the base with further leafy lingzhi sprays issuing from rockwork, the stone of a pale celadon-white tone mottled with milky-white and russet-tinged inclusions; 16.9cm., 6 5/8 in. Lot 29 Estimation 250,000-350,000 GBP. Lot vendu: 1,553,250 GBP

PROVENANCE: Collection of Ernest James Wythes (1868-1949).
Thence by descent.

NOTE DE CATALOGUE: The present brushpot is notable for its large size and its skilfully carved scene that unravels like a scroll painting with the turning of the vessel. Carefully composed to depict four recessed scenes from the 'Land of Immortals' framed within jagged rocks, the carver has captured a sense of harmony and ethereality by balancing the object with the void, the intricate detail with the polished surfaces. Furthermore, the high quality of the stone is highlighted through the minimally carved areas. An ethereal and distant world is skilfully captured through the undercutting of the outlines of rocks and figures, which create dramatic and mysterious contrasts as the light passes through the varying depths of the translucent material.

The decoration follows in the tradition of Chinese painting, treating the surface of the material as a horizontal scroll. The motif unfolds in front of the viewer as the brushpot is turned. With each scene a new story appears, making the brushpot an object that can be appreciated from different angles. Brushpots were essential tools for the literati, especially for the Qianlong emperor who considered himself a great classical scholar, poet, calligrapher and art connoisseur. Apart from his scholarly interest, Qianlong also saw himself as the religious leader of the empire. The subject matter of the Daoist Immortals was one he particularly favoured, revealing his desire to combine his personal and private inspirations with his public image.

The talent of the carver is manifest in his ability to appreciate the natural beauty of the material through a highly effective design. In this piece he has cleverly made use of the russet inclusions to his advantage by incorporating them into the overall composition of the piece in a complementary way. For example, the inclusions can be seen running at the same angle as some of the rockwork to gently enhance the sense of movement within the scene. Moreover, the carver has expertly employed as much of the precious material as possible as evidenced by the patches of russet which occur close to the skin of the stone.

A number of brushpots similarly supported on bracket feet and carved with ethereal landscapes inhabited by figures are known from important museums and private collections; for example compare a slightly smaller white jade brushpot in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Jadeware (III), Hong Kong, 1995, pl. 167; a slightly larger example, from the collection of Alan and Simone Hartman, sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 27th November 2007, lot 1518; another carved from a pale celadon stone, from the Heber R. Bishop collection, sold in our New York rooms, 16th September 2009, lot 251; and a fourth example, carved from a slightly mottled celadon stone, from the collection of T.B. Kitson, sold in these rooms, 30th May 1961, lot 447, and again at Christie's New York, 17th September 2008, lot 329. Compare also a spinach-green jade brushpot of this type, decorated with figures in a landscape, reputedly from the Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, sold in our New York rooms, 18th March 2008, lot 16; and a slightly smaller example, dated to 1795, sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 31st October 2004, lot 229.

Ernest James Wythes (1868-1949) probably acquired his collection between 1890 and 1917 to decorate the 'Chinese drawing room' of Copped Hall, Epping, which he inherited in 1887. Following a fire at Copped Hall in 1917 the family moved to Wood House, a Victorian house on the estate, where the brushpot was displayed until the early 1960s.

Other highlights from today’s sale included: 

• A fine white jade “Buffalo” group, Qing Dynasty, 18th Century from the “Jersey Jades” collection owned by the Earl and Countess of Jersey. Carved from an opaque white stone and depicting a recumbent buffalo surmounted by a qilin, the work sold for £668,450 / $1,067,047 / €836,362, above its pre-sale high estimate (est. £150,000-250,000).

A fine white jade “Buffalo” group, Qing Dynasty, 18th Century. Photo: Sotheby's.

lying recumbent with one foreleg raised and tail curled neatly along its rear haunches, head slightly lifted and defined with a pronounced jaw, large eyes and striated horns, its back surmounted by a qilin depicted with bulging eyes, flaring nostrils, a scaly body and bushy tail, the stone of an opaque white tone with traces of caramel and russet inclusions; 16.5cm., 6 1/2 in. Lot 18 Estimation 150,000-250,000 GBP. Lot vendu: 668,450 GBP. 

PROVENANCE: Collection of The Earl and Countess of Jersey.
Thence by descent in the family.

NOTE DE CATALOGUE: The present carving draws together creatures representative of the natural and mythical worlds. The reclining buffalo, a symbol of strength and tranquillity, is also associated with spring and agriculture because of its role in pulling ploughs. According to James C.S. Lin in The Immortal Stone, Cambridge, 2009, p. 51, from the Ming dynasty buffaloes were often depicted at rest with its head turned 90 degrees, as seen in this carving, to indicate that the world was at peace. The qilin is a fabulous creature that appears only during the reign of a benevolent ruler and embodies longevity, grandeur, felicity, illustrious offspring and wise administration. Thus the combination of the buffalo with a qilin suggests that the peaceful and prosperous reign enjoyed during the period it was produced was a direct result of the heavenly mandate upon the emperor.

By restricting areas of intricate modelling to the head, tail and hooves of the buffalo and the small qilin the carver successfully draws attention to the high-quality of the stone. By incorporating the russet inclusions into the body of the buffalo, a greater sense of warmth and character has been achieved. Furthermore, the juxtaposition of a large buffalo with a child-like qilin provides a visually engaging contrast and accentuates the gentle strength and playfulness of each creature.

A smaller carving of a reclining buffalo with its head turned towards a qilin seated at its rear haunches, published in Robert Kleiner, Chinese Jades from the Collection of Alan and Simone Hartman, Hong Kong, 1996, pl. 189, was sold in these rooms, 11th June 1991, lot 78, and again at Christie's Hong Kong, 28th November 2006, lot 1428; and another, modelled with the qilin reclining beside the buffalo, from the collection of Baron Hatvany, was sold twice at Christie's London, 9th July 1980, lot 108, and again, 7th December 1992, lot 143. Carvings of this type depicting a resting buffalo with similar facial features and surmounted by boys include a large black and white jade example sold in our New York rooms, 31st March – 1st/3rd April 2005, lot 59; a small white jade carving from the collection of Gerald Godfrey, sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 30th October 1995, lot 893; and another from the collections of the Honourable Mrs Ronnie Greville OBE, and Her Royal Highness Queen Elizabeth, Consort of King George VI, was sold in these rooms, 14th November 2001, lot 44

• A fine and rare celadon-glazed beaker vase, Gu, Yongzheng seal mark and period sold for £589,250 / $940,620 / €737,267. With a design and form based on archaic bronzes and created by the Imperial Workshops for the Yongzheng emperor, the rare vase more than doubled its pre-auction low estimate (est. £200,000-300,000).

A fine and rare celadon-glazed beaker vase, Gu. Yongzheng seal mark and period. Photo Sotheby's

of archaic bronze form, the central bulb decorated with taotie masks on a leiwen ground between narrow bands of classic scrolls, the splayed base and the trumpet neck with pendent and upright stiff leaves, the galleried rim encircled by a wide classic scroll band, covered overall with a pale celadon glaze, the base with a six-character Yongzheng seal mark in underglaze-blue; 20.8cm., 8 1/4 in. Lot 169. Estimate 200,000-300,000 GBP. Lot vendu: 589,250 GBP

PROVENANCE: Marchant, London, 18th January 1984.

NOTE DE CATALOGUE: The form and design of the present vase is based on archaic bronzes which appear to have been a major source of inspiration for vessels created by the Imperial Workshops for the Yongzheng emperor. Ritual bronzes, particularly of the late Shang (c.1600-c.1050 BC) and Western Zhou (c.1050-771 BC) periods inspired simulations as well as 'modern' interpretations such as the present vase. Bronze shapes and design elements equally entered the general repertoire of Yongzheng porcelain and provided inspiration for vessels otherwise unrelated to the ancient metal versions. Soame Jenyns, in Later Chinese Porcelain, London, 1951, p. 60, mentions that a stone tablet was excavated in Jingdezhen in 1915 titled 'Orders and Memoranda on Porcelain' on which Tang Ying, Superintendent at the Imperial Kilns in Jingdezhen, discusses his efforts to simulate bronze vessels.

These vases fuse archaic designs with later decorative elements: the taotie mask and stiff leaves are familiar archaic motifs, however they have been adapted according to contemporary taste. For example the taotie masks on the knop have been simplified into an elegant, almost abstract design, while the outlines of the stiff leaves are constructed of linked ruyi heads, a motif popularised during the Qing period.

A closely related example was offered in our Hong Kong rooms, 14th November 1983, lot 131. Compare also a much larger Qianlong mark and period vase of this type, but carved with flowers around the knop, sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 25th November 1981, lot 317. For a vase of this type, but covered in a white glaze and with an incised Yongzheng reign mark and of the period, see one in the Nanjing Museum, Nanjing, illustrated in The Official Kiln Porcelain of the Chinese Qing Dynasty, Shanghai, 2003, p. 183; and an unmarked example sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 17th November 1975, lot 240.

• A celadon jade “landscape” brushpot, Qing Dynasty, Qianlong period, also from the “Jersey Jades” collection owned by the Earl and Countess of Jersey, notable for its finely detailed carving and deep undercutting of an idyllic landscape, sold for £553,250 / $883,153 / €692,224, against a pre-sale estimate of £80,000-120,000. 

A celadon jade “landscape” brushpot, Qing Dynasty, Qianlong period. Photo Sotheby's